Morocco tops Maghreb region in remittances

13/08/2008

Remittances from Moroccans have been on the rise. The government hopes more Moroccans overseas will invest in their country of origin.

By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 13/08/08

[www.mre.ma] Moroccan officials are pleased with a recent increase in funds transferred by Moroccans living overseas.

Moroccan officials have heralded a significant increase in the amount of money Moroccan expatriates are sending home. Government efforts are underway to encourage Moroccans living abroad to increase their investments at home, and to allay concerns about bureaucracy and corruption.

With money sent home by Moroccan migrants reaching $5.7 billion in 2007, Morocco came in second, behind Egypt, on the recent World Bank list of the top 10 MENA remittance recipient countries. Neighbouring Algeria ($2.9 billion) came in at number five.

Money transfers by Moroccans living abroad have been on the rise for several years running. They are already up to 25.8 billion dirhams for the first six months in 2008.

According to the Moroccan Centre for Economics, "Fund transfers made by Moroccan expatriates are a major consideration for the Moroccan economy, not just as a way of supporting household revenues, but also, and more importantly, as a source of extra savings and an essential source of foreign currency."

Moroccan officials who have been pleased with the benefits of the money transfers are bound to become even happier, thanks to a new agreement signed last week with other Arab nations,.

Morocco joined postal operators in Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen on August 4th in an accord allowing electronic money transfer services through technology developed by the United Nations postal agency, the Universal Postal Union (UPU).

"The postal agency has been trying to improve access for rural populations to secure and reliable money transfer services through formal channels – rather than the traditional informal methods," a UPU statement said.

Moroccan officials understand the importance the money transfers and have encouraged expatriates to invest in Morocco in order to contribute to the social and economic development of their country of origin.

Head of the Council of the Moroccan Community Overseas (CCME) Mohamed Ameur has said that one of his ministry's most important tasks is working with Moroccan expatriates to "promote investment and harness skills".

Along with remittances, expatriates have begun to play an active role in sectors such as agriculture, tourism and ICT.

Many Moroccan expatriates, however, have voiced dissatisfaction with conditions governing investment in their country of origin.

Salah Bourja, who settled in France, told Magharebia that "expatriates who want to invest in their home country are confronted with a number of obstacles, including bureaucracy and corruption."

In collaboration with a number of partners, the CCME is planning a study to determine the sectors in which expatriates invest, and the difficulties they encounter when investing. The goal of the study is to develop mechanisms which can be put in place to promote investment by Moroccan expatriates in their country of origin.

Mohamed Mrizika, chairman of the "Al Mouhajir" association, said that a committee will soon be formed in order to identify projects of an economic, social or cultural nature, and to encourage their implementation.

France continues to be the top source of funds transferred by Moroccans living abroad, followed closely by Spain. According to the Moroccan Centre for Economics, "[a]fter a large-scale return of Moroccans from Spain because of unemployment, it is expected that receipts will see a slight fall."

Economist Mohamed Badari played down the potential reduction in money sent home. "There are still thousands of Moroccans in Spain who will continue to transfer funds," he told Magharebia.