Migrant diaspora communities have incredible potential to help us towards a future of sustainable development.
This week at the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly, Antonio Vitorino, Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), highlighted the significant role that diaspora communities play in contributing to the global economy and the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Role of Remittances
“Diaspora have a key role to play,” stated Vitorino.“Migrants all over the world contribute 9.4% of the global world GDP. This shows that the diaspora are communities that are very active in their countries of destination”.
According to statistics from IOM, migrants send a total of $790 billion back to their home countries yearly. This figure represents more than the total FDI aid budget of the entire world. These financial contributions, therefore, play a key role in supporting and facilitating the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals.
Leveraging Diaspora Communities
To fully leverage the impact of migrant diaspora, Vitorino emphasised the need to map diaspora communities, understand their skills, and explore how they can contribute to achieving sustainable development goals.
“Migrants are very much willing to maintain links with their country of origin”, affirmed Vitorino. “Communities of diaspora can have permanent links with their countries of origin and can support development in that area”.
Migrants are ideally situated to play a leading role in promoting greater global cooperation. They serve as valuable links, fostering economic and cultural connections between their adopted countries and their places of origin. These connections will help pave the way for the establishment of fresh collaborations.
Leveraging migrant diaspora will, therefore, be crucial to accomplish all seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the year 2030.