Ethiopia has received over $4.2 billion in remittances over the past 10 months, according to Fitsum Asefa (P.h.D.), the Minister of Planning and Development.
In a briefing with journalists on Wednesday, Fitsum mentioned that the country has been attracting over $4 billion annually for the last five years. This remittance has been sent by foreign nationals and people of Ethiopian origin through legal channels, and the amount has been steadily increasing each year.
Fitsum credited the increase in remittance to the government’s reforms aimed at involving the Diaspora in the national economy.
The Minister also reported that during the current fiscal year, 1,745 Diaspora members have opened accounts in domestic banks and deposited over $2.2 million.
Additionally, more than $17 million has been collected from the Diaspora in the form of both cash and kind contributions for the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) over the last nine months.
Belayneh Aknaw, the Deputy Director General of the Ethiopian Diaspora Service, highlighted the cooperative efforts with relevant stakeholders to establish efficient and alternative legal means for the Diaspora to transfer money.
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