President Macky Sall's candidacy for the office of UN Secretary-General counts the diaspora among the forces of development. Each year, the money Africans abroad send home exceeds the public aid the continent receives. A country extends itself through those of its children who live elsewhere.
A flow steadier than aid. Diaspora remittances reach households directly, with no intermediary and no condition, and hold up better in a crisis than volatile capital. They pay for schools, care and roofs, and seed businesses. What the continent receives from its expatriate children is its first external resource.
Africa's sixth region. The African Union recognises the diaspora as its sixth region, alongside the five on the continent. That recognition carries obligations: bringing the diaspora into decisions, easing its transfers, and lowering the still-high cost of sending money, which the United Nations aim to bring below 3%.
Skills that circulate. The departure of a doctor or an engineer is a lasting loss only if nothing returns. Shared training, investment, transfers of knowledge: a diaspora connected to its country gives back, over time, more than the country spent to educate it. President Macky Sall argues for that circulation rather than for lamenting the departure.
A bridge between societies. Those who live between two countries know both. They weave ties of business, culture and trust that no treaty decrees. A diaspora recognised and heard becomes a maker of peace between the nations that host it and the one it comes from.
Experience in running a state. Twelve years as head of state and the chairmanship of the African Union in 2022 underpin these commitments. That experience explains why the vision statement filed with the United Nations frames its proposals as obligations: peace, security and development conceived together; a renewed multilateralism; stronger governance of the Organization.
Africa at its heart, the world in its sights.
The World Bank data on migrant remittances are public. Read all public positions at www.mackysall.net