Your Excellences, Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to start by thanking ForumSyd for organizing and giving us this opportunity to highlight and discuss the role the diaspora has for the development in Somaliland.It is without question the Diaspora community plays an integral and vital role in the sustenance of Somaliland’s daily living. Currently, it is estimated that nearly half of all existing households in the country rely on remittance from abroad. One cannot overstate how critical this influx of money is for both the locals, who are direct beneficiaries and the wider impact it has on the existing economy.
With this in mind, it is of utmost importance that the Diaspora and migrant communities be included in any upcoming government development plans. It is urged that they should be consulted in an inclusive manner such that they can actively play a participatory role in decisive matters proposed by the government. This derives from the inescapable fact they are chief contributors to the existing funds in circulation. Moreover, they are either mostly educated to some degree or hold a relatively expansive view of the globalised mindset. This factor is rapidly becoming a mandatory necessity for any population seeking to plug into the international community. That supplemented by the skill sets they have amassed while in the Diaspora, can be utilized to progressively attain goals and objectives set out by the government.
Statistics indicate the annual remittance from the Somaliland Diaspora amounts to be in the region of $500 Million. This financial injection dwarfs the aid inflow from international partners ($120-150 Million). Seeing that the remittance vastly outstrips the latter, I reiterate to the government decision makers and all related entities in the development sector, the Diaspora can no longer be cast aside and categorized as mere cash cows. Quite the contrary, it is now more than ever believed the time is ripe for them to be seriously recognized as key players.
Given the above outlined facts, the government and multilateral institutions should exert more efforts in cohesively engaging the Diaspora. This should be done so by identifying possible and plausible channels whereby they can work in collaboration with the Diaspora members. It is already evident via existing private initiatives led by the returnees that they bring a wealth of attributes to Somaliland. Be this through their local entrepreneur ventures or NGOS, the Diaspora have already proven then can tremendously assist in the economical and developmental revival of Somaliland. Therefore as an ambassador in the Diaspora myself, I shall seize this platform to strongly appeal to international community. It is of paramount importance they should consider working closely with this ever increasing segment of the population to hasten the attainment of development objectives.
RHODA ELMI
AMBASADDOR OF SOMALILAND
STOCKHOLM