Leveraging the contribution of Basotho diaspora to Lesotho sustainable development

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Sub-regional Office for North Africa (SRO-NA) and Sub-regional Office for Southern Africa in partnership with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, organized a workshop on Thursday 15 May in Maseru, Lesotho, on leveraging the contribution of the Basotho diaspora to the country’s sustainable development.

The mission aimed to engage with key stakeholders, support the integration of remittances into national development strategies, explore ways to channel diaspora savings into investment for sustainable development, and establish a national technical working group to guide the program’s implementation.

The workshop was attended by 55 representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Central Bank of Lesotho, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Home Affairs, United Nation System in Lesotho (RCO, IOM, UNDP), and representatives from academia, private sector, diaspora association, civil society and the banking sector.

The meeting was held as part of ECA’s programme on “Strengthening the Migration-Development Nexus in Africa”, which aims to provide technical support and strengthen the capacity of African countries to include the diaspora’s contribution into national plans and socio-economic policies and develop adequate framework and tools to better channel remittances to productive investment.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Khaled Hussein, Chief of the Sub-Regional Initiatives Section, SRO-NA, extended his appreciation to national partners for the constructive engagement over the past three days of the fact-finding mission. He underscored the vital role that remittances play in Lesotho’s economy, noting their resilience amid global uncertainties. “Despite international challenges, remittances have remained a stable domestic resource,” he said, reaffirming ECA’s commitment to supporting Lesotho through continued technical assistance.

“It is time for Lesotho to broaden the scope of diaspora contributions and more effectively channel them toward sustainable development,” stated Ms. Maseeiso Lekholoane, Director of Private Sector and Financial Affairs at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, emphasizing the importance of moving beyond traditional remittance flows. She called on participants to take full advantage of the workshop, urging them to engage in meaningful dialogue, share insights, and collaboratively identify strategies that can fully harness the potential of the Basotho diaspora for national development.

The workshop concluded with the agreement to establish a national technical working group (NTWG) that will operate under the leadership of the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, based on the pre-established group on Migration by including more relevant stakeholders, and the identification of key areas of technical support to better leverage the contribution of remittances in Lesotho.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).