The International Forum of the Malian Diaspora opened in Bamako on July 17, 2025. The importance of financial transfers from the diaspora, which reached nearly 700 billion CFA francs in 2023, or 5% of GDP, was underlined on the occasion

The objective of the forum is to better channel these funds into sustainable investments to support the development of Mali. The meeting, which brings together participants from 77 countries around the theme “The issues and challenges for a diaspora at the heart of national economic development”, highlights the decisive contribution of Malians from abroad in the national economy, in particular through financial transfers. According to the Ministry of Malians living abroad, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Rabat Process, the Malian diaspora is estimated between four and six million people, more than half of whom live in West Africa in West Africa in Côte d'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mauritania and Niger. A significant portion also resides in Europe (France, Spain, Italy) and North America. This population includes migrant workers, entrepreneurs, binationals and qualified managers. The Head of Government welcomed the mobilization of the diaspora and recalled that remittances to Mali reached nearly 700 billion CFA francs in 2023, or about 1.15 billion dollars, representing 5% of the gross domestic product, according to

The Forum aims to structure these financial flows in order to direct them towards productive and sustainable investments.