The remittance earned from the diaspora community has increased from the previous year. The earnings in the first quarter of the fiscal year have reached 1.3 billion dollars, showing a 25pc increase. The growth in remittance gave a signal to federal authorities that 5.2 billion dollars would be sent home by the end of the fiscal year. The IMF has recently made a disconcerting forecast that Ethiopia's foreign exchange reserves are enough to pay for the importers of 18 days. The 2017 UN reports show that Ethiopia has over one million diaspora communities worldwide. According to the Director General of the Ethiopian Diaspora Service, Mohamed Andris (PhD), over 2,000 "diaspora accounts" have been opened with a two million dollar deposit. A World Bank report shows remittances accounted for 0.4pc of Ethiopia's GDP two years ago. According to Wondwossen Girma, communications head of the federal Diaspora Agency, 175 million Br has been mobilised from the Diaspora to provide aid to the population in the war-affected areas, with a significant share of the inflow coming from the Middle East and North America. Over 24 million Br has been collected through bond purchases and gifts to finance the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
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