Diaspora this year will be an infusion for the economy of Kosovo, say experts on economic issues, adding that the number of migrants who will come to Kosovo will be very large, due to the inability to travel last year as a result of PANDEMIC.
The executive director of the Institute for Social Policy “Musine Kokalari”, Visar Ymeri, said that the impact of the diaspora on economic growth will be important this year.
“I think that the chances are that the diaspora this time will come in larger numbers than usual, because we had last year where they could not come because of the pandemic, I believe that this time the interest to come to Kosovo will be even greater. This is good news for the economy of Kosovo, the second then that the amount of money spent taking into account last year, I think it would have been even greater I believe that their impact on economic growth would have been quite important this year. We are also seeing that in other countries in general as countries that are one step behind overcoming the risks of the pandemic, there has been a kind of economic boom and I think the same thing will happen in Kosovo, also because of the diaspora, but also due to the increase of domestic consumption in general “, stated Ymeri.
Also, Lirim Krasniqi, researcher and policy analyst at the organization “Germin”, an organization that deals mainly with diaspora issues, said that the arrival of the diaspora during the summer season will have a tremendous impact on the economic aspect.
“We believe that it will have a tremendous impact on the economic aspect, given the impact that the diaspora has had in the past years, and the lack of diaspora during 2020. An assessment we made last year shows that there were about 1 million fewer visitors by the end of August, compared to the previous year, and given that most visitors came from the airport “Adem Jashari”, we can say that there was a decrease in revenue during 2020, which are expected to be offset this year, where the diaspora is more willing and has it easier to come during the summer, and also according to an estimate we have made in the best possible scenario, during the summer season alone there were 200 million less revenue due to the lack of visits from the diaspora in 2020, and we strongly believe that this year the diaspora will give an economic infusion, given that many sectors depend during the summer season on turnover and money coming from dia spora through their direct visits “, declared Krasniqi.
Further, Krasniqi said that local institutions should continue the practice launched last year to remove the green card.
Also, according to him, it is important to create administrative facilities and create a more favorable environment for investments from the diaspora.
“Initially, considering that we are also talking about visits during the summer season, we should continue a practice that started last year with the removal of the insurance policy or the green card, which is not too big for the emigrants but serves as a kind of symbolic to show our welcome and willingness to welcome them, especially when we consider that we have had an extraordinary loss during the year of the pandemic and we need this diaspora tourism in order to increase revenue and have some kind of impact greater economic. In the meantime, regarding other facilities, we have advocated for the right to vote and representation, which should already be passed in the Assembly as all preconditions exist, there is a draft law that enables diaspora voting through embassies and consulates, it should also to create facilities in terms of attracting investments from the diaspora ”.
For 13 years, Kosovo has received close to nine billion euros in remittances. These financial means that send the citizens of Kosovo, who live abroad, to their families.
The Government of Kosovo in the four-year governing plan has provided that through the creation of investment instruments, diaspora capital to be channeled into investments that create jobs. This plan of the government has foreseen that from the first year of the government to be issued treasury bills, dedicated to the diaspora.
