Participants at the meeting of IPAWAS Technical Committee in Abuja.
By Mark Longyen
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has called on Investment Promotion Agencies of West Africa (IPAWAS) to consider deploying diaspora remittances for infrastructural development in their countries.
Dr Tony Elumelu, ECOWAS Director of Private Sector, made this known at a meeting of IPAWAS Technical Committee in Abuja.
According to him, West Africa’s current huge infrastructural deficit can be closed if the regional investment agencies collaborate with relevant government institutions to use diaspora remittances to fund the development of infrastructure.
Elumelu said that such remittances could be deployed for the transformation of the region’s economic landscape through targeted intervention.
“Importantly, it could help the region to close the yawning infrastructure gap, particularly in view of the huge demands on the public finances of the Member States,” he said.
He noted that Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal received about 28 billion dollars in diaspora remittances in 2024, according to World Bank records.
Elumelu said that the three West African countries are among the top ten recipients of such funds in Africa, which is a critical source of external funding, surpassing official development assistance and foreign direct investment.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that German international development agency, GIZ, also made a presentation on unlocking potentials for sustainable development through its representative at the meeting.
The German agency emphasised the importance of developing new strategic initiatives to strengthen cooperation and investment attractiveness in West Africa and the strengthening of regional value chains.
NAN reports that the meeting was preceded by a capacity-building programme organized by ECOWAS for members of the technical committee.
Delegates and resource persons, who were drawn from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), adopted the capacity-building modules and frequency for ECOWAS member states.(NAN)
