By ODA Communications Unit
The Director, Office of Diaspora Affairs (ODA), Mr Kallay Musa Conteh over the weekend travelled to Nairobi, Kenya in order to represent Sierra Leone at the Peer to Peer (P2P) Exchange Meeting on Remittances that was scheduled for the 17th 18th and 19th October, 2016.
The meeting brought together high-level technical experts on remittances as well as the ACP-EU Migration Action main stakeholders. Also, Officials from Governments Institutions in some African Countries, Regional Organizations , Non State Actors (NSAs) focal points involved in the ACP-EU Migration Action’s initiatives on remittances; migration experts delivering the Action’s technical assistance; ACP Secretariat and European Union representatives; representatives of the International Organization for Migration and other agencies of the international community working in the area of remittances and diaspora mobilization also attended the meeting.
The P2P exchange meeting comprised of a number of plenary and small group brainstorming sessions. The meeting also featured plenary sessions, roundtable debates, small group discussions and smaller presentations by the beneficiaries of the Action, policy makers and migration experts, while also leaving sufficient space for extemporary exchange among participants. The break-out sessions allowed for in-depth and more technical discussions of salient issues arising from the thematic focus of remittances.
In some of these sessions, the Director of ODA who represented Country made brilliant contributions and even presented a case for the relevance of remittances in boosting the economy of Sierra Leone through diaspora- led investments.
The Meeting is a follow up event held to deepen previous discussions of the seminar on remittances of the ACP-EU Dialogue on Migration and Development that took place on the 13th of July 2016 in Brussels, Belgium.
The P2P Meeting Seeks to identify the common areas that impact all countries looking to attract diaspora investments, attempt to understand the motivation of diaspora members and seek to find ways to harness the potential funds in a way that provides security and return for investors and brings much needed funds into their home country.
