AU picks Kenya to host African Institute for Remittances

The African Union (AU) Executive Council selected Kenya to host the African Institute for Remittances (AIR) which will become operational in 2015, said the World Bank on Monday. The Kenya is one of the four member countries that had expressed interest in the project signed in December 2009 and launched in June 2010. The AIR project is an initiative in which the World Bank and selected development partners are collaborating to facilitate the AU Commission and its member states in establishing the AIR. The decision to select Kenya was made during the 24th Ordinary Session of the AU Executive Council which met from Jan. 27 to 28 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. AIR project partners agreed to the need for sustained collaboration and coordination of efforts in support of the institute to achieve the planned improvement in the market for remittances, and to leverage their impact on development in the continent.