Mr. Zniber, who chaired a panel initiated by the Permanent Mission of Morocco to the UN in Geneva, as part of the WTO Public Forum, indicated that Morocco is proposing in this sense “a multilateral process, while associating International Organizations, notably the WTO, the World Bank, the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM)”.
This involves “conducting an overall reflection on the levers and measures capable of supporting the dynamics of fund transfer flows, of remedying the low levels of financial inclusion of the African diaspora, of guaranteeing decent work for all migrants and accelerate efforts to reduce associated costs, with a view to aligning with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and Goal 20 of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.” , clarified the ambassador.
He recalled in this regard that His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Leader of the African Union on Migration Issues, had underlined on the occasion of the 35th session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Union African, that “Africa is the precursor of the new migratory governance desired by the Marrakech Pact”, insisting on the imperative of ensuring that “migrants are not forgotten by development and pandemics but on the contrary the center of gravity of responsible, supportive migration policies consistent with the 23 objectives of the Marrakech Pact.
For Mr. Zniber, the organization of this high-level panel under the theme “Migrant fund transfers, inclusive trade and development” reflects the interest given by HM the King to the migration issue. The meeting which took place from among others the WTO, the ILO, the IOM and the World Bank, represents, in his eyes, a suitable opportunity to discuss the factors which “contribute to the high cost of remittances”, while cooperation between the various UN and International Organizations, is “more necessary than ever in a rapidly changing global situation, on several levels, geopolitical, economic, commercial and technological”.
“As part of this transformation of value chains and/or global trade in general terms, there is a need to re-globalize (theme of the WTO Public Forum 2024), and to achieve this, States as well as international decision-makers must make informed decisions, particularly developing countries and least developed countries, with a view to supporting this transition and facing the many challenges that arise from it,” argued the Moroccan diplomat.
In this context, he noted, the economic challenges of migration, which are both a response and a challenge for economies, require the evaluation of new innovative, digital and inclusive models/channels which could potentially transform markets, in order to optimize the operational process of sending funds and make it less costly with a view to sustainable development, productive investment and inclusive trade.
And to recall that the Member States of the United Nations are committed within the framework of objective 20 of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, adopted in Marrakech in December 2018, to make remittances faster, more safe and less expensive while promoting the financial inclusion of migrants.
For Mr. Zniber, remittances constitute an engine of growth – not exploited optimally – and an instrument for sustainable development and co-development within the framework of North-South and South-South cooperation, especially more than remittances from migrants to their country of origin represent a total of three times the amount invested by official development assistance.
Migrant workers remain an engine of human development and economic growth as evidenced by the more than 650% increase in international remittances between 2000 and 2022, from US$128 billion to US$831 billion. Of these 831 billion remittances, 647 billion were sent to low- and middle-income countries. Reducing the cost of remittance transfers nevertheless constitutes a major challenge for many economies of developing and least developed countries.
Globally, the cost of transferring $200 was, on average, 6.2% in the fourth quarter of 2022, more than double the 3% target set by the Sustainable Development Goals, according to the database World Bank data on the cost of money transfers around the world. This cost is higher for African countries, with an average of 8%.
Coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the Marrakech Accords establishing the WTO, the high-level panel organized by the Permanent Mission of Morocco to the UN in Geneva was selected from a record number of more than 300 applications received for the Public Forum 2024, one of the organization’s largest awareness events. In particular, it was an opportunity for the WTO, the United Nations development and migration system and international financial institutions to reflect on effective measures to strengthen cooperation in order to reduce the cost of fund transfers.