Reducing the average global cost of transferring migrants’ remittances from 10% to 5% in 2014 would pave the way for a net increase in migrants’ and their families’ incomes totalling around 15 billion dollars per year. The comment was made by Deputy Minister Bruno Archi, referring to a proposal initially aired by Italy at the G8 Summit in l’Aquila in July 2009, and agreed by our G8 partners. The Deputy Minister was speaking at the conference organised by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) with the collaboration of the World Bank, on “Remittances, Migration and Development”, in the framework of the Global Forum on Remittances in Bangkok in May 2013.
Italian Proposal
Archi pointed out that at the G8 Summit the Heads of State and Government had adopted an Italian proposal and, for the first time, made a significant commitment to reduce the average global cost of transferring migrants’ remittances from 10% to 5% by the end of 2014.
“Italy is playing its part in full”, underscored Archi, “given that we have seen the average cost fall from 10.2% in 2008 to the current 7.6%. We are one of the best performers in implementing the initiative and if other major countries followed a similar trend then the goal would be within reach”.
Stronger international effort
“But we need a stronger international effort, including with the decisive support of bodies like IFAD, the World Bank and the International Organisation for Migration. […] Italy is firmly convinced, considering its own historic experience, that migrants contribute to the development and growth of their country of origin as well as of their host country. We are therefore redoubling our efforts to bring down the average global cost of transferring remittances”, declared Archi, “not least to increase their impact on the economic and social development of migrants’ home countries”.
