Home remittance the flywheel to blue economy.

Byline: Urooj Aijaz

A nationwide campaign of Bahria University to promote Blue Economy

Blue Economy identifies the water bodies as main drivers of the economic progress with great impending for novelty and growth. According to the World Bank, the blue economy is the "sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystem." European Commission defines it as "All economic activities related to oceans, seas and coasts. It covers a wide range of interlinked established and emerging sectors. "The Commonwealth of Nations considers it an emerging concept which encourages better stewardship of our ocean or 'blue' resources." Conservation International adds that "blue economy also includes economic benefits that may not be marketed, such as carbon storage, coastal protection, cultural values and biodiversity."

The Center for the Blue Economy says "it is now a widely used term around the world with three related but distinct meanings- the overall contribution of the oceans to economies, the need to address the environmental and ecological sustainability of the oceans, and the ocean economy as a growth opportunity for both developed and developing countries" but Blue Economy goes beyond viewing the ocean economy solely as a mechanism for economic growth. It focuses on the sustainability of ocean for economic growth.

Therefore, Blue Economy encompasses ecological aspects of the ocean along with economic aspects but when we talk about Blue Growth than the role of home remittance is un-ignorable. In Pakistan along with other private sector banks; National Bank of Pakistan as a representative of public sector bank have largest number of its Remittance Customers with the facility to receive their remittances from a vast network of 1470+ branches across Pakistan. National Bank of Pakistan has remittance partners in every country and territory of the world and facilitates the customers in numerous ways for receiving funds in Pakistan.

In many countries, remittance constitutes a significant portion of GDP and the top recipients of foreign remittances are India, China and the Philippines. In Pakistan, traditionally, a major chunk of overseas workers remittance comes from KSA, US, UAE, UK and other GCC countries. KSA remains the biggest contributor towards the remittances, but, recent immigration curbs and the ongoing austerity measures have changed the situation in the KSA. This...