Ethiopia earns over $4.2bln in remittance in 10 months: Planning and Dev’t Minister

Ethiopia has earned over $4.2 billion in remittance over the past 10 months, the Planning and Development Minister Fitsum Asefa (PhD) has disclosed.

Briefing journalists on Wednesday, Fitsum said the country is attracting over $4 billion on yearly basis over the past of five years.

Fitsum said foreign nationals and Ethiopian origins have transferred the stated remittance through legal and amount has seen a steady growth every year.

She attributed the increase to the reformative actions taken by the incumbent government to enhance the participation of the Diaspora in the national economy.

The Minister further added that over the last eight months of current fiscal year, 1,745 diaspora members have opened accounts in domestic banks and deposited more than 2.2 million USD.

According to the Minister, more than $17 million has been collected over the last nine months from the diaspora in kind and cash to the construction of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) being built on the River Nile.

Deputy Director General of the Ethiopian Diaspora Service, Belayneh Aknaw, noted that various activities have been conducted in cooperation with concerned stakeholders to establish an efficient and alternative legal means and systems in which the diaspora can transfer money.