Serbia: diaspora send record $5.5 billion
Sunday 8 January 2012
(ANSAmed) - BELGRADE, JANUSARY 3 - Serbs in diaspora sent almost USD 5.5 billion to Serbia in 2011, so despite the economic crisis, the country recorded a record influx of foreign currency in the past 10 years, Minister of Religious Affairs and Diaspora Srdjan Sreckovic has said.
"According to estimates from the National Bank of Serbia and World Bank, the foreign exchange funds sent by diaspora in 2011 reached a record level, higher than the one in 2009 and came close to a total of USD 5.5 billion," Sreckovic told Tanjug news agency.
The money from diaspora helped a lot to improve the standard of living, he stated. Data indicate that diaspora was one of the chief factors of macroeconomic stability in 2011, he noted, adding that the money sent by diaspora reached 15 percent of the GDP.
The funds sent by diaspora have had a 2.5 times bigger share of the GDP over the past 10 years than direct foreign investments, he pointed out. According to him, Serbia has received more than USD 40 billion from diaspora since 2000, which was an important financial injection that helped the ocuntry go through transition easier.
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