New York, 6 May 2026 (ECA) – The Republic of Ghana and the Republic of Tunisia held on 6 May in New York, USA, a round table on “Remittances and Diaspora Contributions to achieve the Global Compact for Migration (GCM) goals in Africa” in partnership with the UN Economic Commission for Africa.
Participants at the meeting presented several key recommendations to strengthen countries’ ability to leverage diasporas and remittances for development, including:
- integrating remittances and diaspora contribution as alternative sources of finance for development in national planning and development policies;
- developing adequate frameworks to channel remittances into productive investments;
- scaling up innovative financial instruments and reducing transaction costs;
- strengthening data systems to accurately measure and leverage diaspora contributions;
- accelerating innovation, digital transformation and financial inclusion;
- enhancing collaboration between governments, diaspora groups, and the private sector;
- and promoting cross-country learning and the sharing of best practices.
The roundtable was a side event of the International Migration Review Forum (IMRF 2026), a global event organized at the UN Headquarters in New York from 5 to 8 May 2026 with the participation of over 100 countries, with the goal of assessing the implementation of the Global Compact for Migration, exchanging innovative approaches and sharing findings, best practices and recommendations to leverage the positive contributions of migrants to development.
Over the last few years, remittances have proved to be a robust and reliable channel for financing sustainable development and have played a key role in catalyzing economic advancement, fueling consumption, investment, and public spending. In 2025, African diaspora remittances soared past US$100 billion and supported over 200 million relatives, primarily in rural communities. In some African countries, remittances made it possible to reduce poverty by up to 40%.
“Despite multiple crises, and the difficult global economic context, remittances have remained resilient, representing one of Africa’s largest and most stable sources of external finance and surpassing other inflows that traditionally play an important role, such as official development assistance, and foreign direct investment. Tapping into their transformative capacity requires policies and adequate frameworks that support diasporas contributions and unlock development potential,” said Samia Mansour Hamouda, Economic Affairs Officer in the ECA.
Beyond remittances, diasporas themselves play a crucial role in African development by bringing valuable skills, facilitating knowledge transfer and contributing to human capital and technological development.
The IMRF side event on “Remittances and Diaspora Contributions to achieve the Global Compact for Migration (GCM) goals in Africa,” showcased how African countries are increasingly integrating diaspora engagement into national development strategies. Discussions emphasized that diasporas, as recognized by the GCM, as drivers of prosperity, innovation, and sustainable development when effectively engaged.
“Skills transfer, innovation, and knowledge exchange are critical assets that can strengthen national capacities and foster inclusive growth. However, unlocking this full potential requires coherent policies, improved data systems, reduced transaction costs, and digital transformation,” said Sylvia Ekra, IOM Regional Director for West and Central Africa.
The session highlighted concrete country experiences, including those of Ghana and Tunisia, where governments are actively mainstreaming diaspora contributions into national planning frameworks. These efforts aim to move beyond the traditional use of remittances for consumption towards more productive investments.
Dr. Audrey Smock Amoah, Director General of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) of Ghana, underscored the growing recognition of diasporas as a strategic development partner: “Migration, Remittances and Diaspora Engagement are now integrated into National Development Planning for Sustainable Development and Shared Prosperity. It represents also now a key consideration in decentralized planning across all 261 local governments,” she said.
For his part, Tarek Bouhlel, Director General of African Cooperation at the Ministry of Economy and Planning of Tunisia, highlighted the need for structured and forward-looking policies to better harness diaspora potential.
“In addition to mainstreaming remittances and diasporas contribution in the 2026-2030, five year development plan, Tunisia is working, with ECA support, to implement policy reforms in order to put into place the adequate framework and a dedicated diaspora investment fund and products to channel remittances into productive and sustainable projects,” he said.
With additional examples from Jamaica, Malawi, FAO and IFAD, the discussion further underscored the importance of aligning diaspora engagement strategies with the objectives of the GCM, particularly those related to enhancing financial inclusion, reducing remittance costs, and maximizing the positive contributions of diasporas to development. Stronger partnerships between governments, diaspora communities, the private sector, and international organizations are important to unlock the untapped potential.
Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: eca-info@un.org