$ 58 billion in expatriate remittances to the Arab region in 2020 – Today 24

The Union of Arab Banks revealed that the flow of remittances from expatriates to Arab countries in 2020 remained stable despite previous expectations of a significant decline, following the consequences of the spread of the Corona pandemic, reaching $ 58 billion compared to $ 61.7 billion in 2019.

The Union of Arab Banks said in a recent report that this amount represents about 10.7% of total remittances to low- and middle-income countries around the world. The report indicates that the total of remittances received by the ten Arab countries, the most exporters of labor, namely Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Sudan , Tunisia, Palestine and Algeria, rose 2.7 percent to about $ 54.9. billion. , which represents about 95 percent of total remittances to the Arab region, in the same year.

According to the report, the proportion of remittances to Egypt increased by around 10.5%, to reach around $ 29.6 billion in 2020, while other economies in the region recorded losses of remittance flows, which declined by more than 5% in Sudan, Algeria and Palestine. .

The report adds that the countries of Djibouti, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan, for their part, recorded a drop of more than 10 percent, and remittances to the region are expected to increase by more than 10 percent. 2.6 percent in the current year, as a result of limited eurozone growth and weak outflows from GCC countries. Gulf Cooperation.

The source added that the cost of transfers to Arab countries varies among sending countries, where the average cost of sending 200 units from non-Arab countries is 3.9% of the base amount, and 5 % of Gulf Cooperation Council countries, in addition to this, the cost of money transfer varies. To Arab countries receiving remittances, depending on the payment channels.

وأبرز التقرير أنه رغم المبالغ الكبيرة للتحويلات, التي تتلقاها الدول العربية المصدرة للعمالة, لا تزال هناك عقبات عديدة تعيق دور التحويلات في التنمية الاقتصادية, والبشرية, والاجتماعية المستدامة, موضحا أنه يتم العمل مع البنك الدولي للاستفادة أكثر من تحويلات المغتربين, والتدفقات المالية الكبيرة إلى المنطقة Arabic.

The Union of Arab Banks stressed the need to use these funds in sustainable development in the Arab world, and to take advantage of them to finance investment projects aimed at creating employment opportunities in the region for the benefit of young people and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises.