Policy Engagement

IFAD’s FFR is recognized as a leading actor in migration and development. The increasing prominence of remittances and diaspora investment within national, regional, and international policy reflects both an understanding of their importance, and a growing focus on their potential to achieve broader developmental goals.

Global Forum on Remittances, Investment and Development (GFRID)

The GFRID brings together stakeholders working on remittances and diaspora investment for development to discuss new trends and innovations, promote new policies and build promising partnerships. It promotes the SDGs and the GCM.

International Day of Family
Remittances (IDFR)

The IDFR is a universally-recognized observance adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (A/RES/72/281) and celebrated every year on 16 June.

Supporting Global Processes

The FFR contributes to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Financing for Development, recent G20 Summits, the GCM and the UN General Assembly resolution proclaiming the IDFR.

National Policy Engagement

Coordinating policy engagement on remittances and diaspora investment, including payment system development, financial inclusion policy, data, regulatory environment, consumer protection, customer due-diligence, gender and others.

Partnerships

Working in partnership with the private and public sectors, and the civil society. The FFR builds on and capitalizes on the shared goals between stakeholders to achieve joint objectives and sustainable outcomes on remittances and diaspora investment.

Global Forum on Remittances,
Investment and Development (GFRID)

Established in 2005, the GFRID is a UN-led informal process aimed at bringing together stakeholders from around the world involved in the field of remittances, migration and development.

The GFRID process culminates in the Summit, hosted biannually in different regions of the world, covering the most pressing issues of the remittance ecosystem with key actors from public and private sectors, and the civil society.

The International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR)

The International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR) is a universally-recognized observance adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (A/RES/72/281) and marked every year on 16 June.


The day recognizes the contribution of over 200 million migrants, who send remittances home to improve the lives of their 800 million family members.

By 2030, it is projected that over US$ 5 trillion will be sent home by migrants to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), with much of this money going directly to rural areas where 80 per cent of the world’s poor live, face food shortages, and the impacts of climate change.

Other Global Processes

  • Global Compact for Migration / United Nations’ Network on Migration
  • G20 Global Partnership for financial Inclusion (GPFI)
  • Global Forum for Migration and Development (GFMD)
  • SDG 2030 Agenda
  • Financing for Development (FfD)

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) is the first inter-governmentally negotiated agreement, prepared under the auspices of the United Nations, covering all dimensions of international migration holistically and comprehensively. Its Objectives 19 and 20 are specifically dedicated to actions to support the diaspora and promote remittances and financial inclusion.

The UN Network on Migration is the network established to ensure effective, timely and coordinated system-wide support to Member States in supporting the implementation, follow-up and review of the GCM. IFAD, through the FFR, co-chairs the UN workstream on remittances and diaspora engagement, and provides technical expertise on remittances and diaspora investment contributing to the achievement of GCM objectives 19 and 20.

The Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion is an inclusive platform for all G20 countries, interested non-G20 countries and relevant stakeholders to carry forward work on financial inclusion, including implementation of the G20 Financial Inclusion Action Plan.
IFAD, through the FFR, is an implementing partner of the GPFI, and provides technical expertise to the rotating Presidency and the co-chairs on remittances and financial inclusion.

Created in 2007, the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) is a state-led, informal and non-binding process, which helps shape the global debate on migration and development. Every year, the GFMD has a rotating chairmanship and focuses on different priorities, in response to the global agenda on remittances and migrants’ contribution to development.

As implementing partner, the FFR annually provides technical support on remittances and diaspora investment to the rotating Presidency.

The SDG 2023 Agenda recognises that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. All countries and all stakeholders, acting in collaborative partnership, will implement this plan.

IFAD, through the FFR, contributes to the 2030 Agenda by advocating on the impact migrant contributions to achieve the SDGs.

 The Financing for Development (FfD) process is centred around supporting the follow-up to the agreements and commitments reached during the three major international conferences on: in Monterrey, Mexico in 2002; in Doha, Qatar in 2008; and in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2015.

The process also follows up on the financing for development-related aspects of the outcomes of major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic and social fields, including the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

IFAD, through the FFR, contributes by providing technical assistance on remittances, financial inclusion and diaspora investment.

National Policy Engagement

  • National Remittances Stakeholder Networks (NRSNs)
  • UN Migration Network at
National Level

National Remittances Stakeholder
Networks (NRSNs)

The NRSNs are active in the majority of the FFR countries of intervention, provide a learning platform for country-specific remittance stakeholders to connect and recommend actions to make remittances accessible, safer, affordable and count more.

UN Migration Network at

National Level

As part of a UN coordinated approach on migration at national level, the FFR contributes with its technical expertise on remittances and diaspora investment to the work of the national UN Networks on Migration in all countries of intervention.

Partnerships

The FFR works in close collaboration with private sector entities such as remittance service providers, money transfer operators, aggregators, civil society organizations such as diaspora networks and trusts; and with the public sector, particularly central and state banks, government ministries and departments as well as with postal networks, to maximise the impact of remittances and diaspora investment for sustainable development.

The FFR provides co-financing to banks, mobile network operators, aggregators, micro-finance institutes, remittance service providers among others in support of programme goals. FFR also partners with industry associations, including The International Association of Money Transfer Networks, the GSMA, World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI) and others to maximize the impact of remittances and diaspora for sustainable development.

The FFR engages with the public sector through direct policy engagement and technical assistance to governments and central banks to improve the operating environment on remittances and diaspora investment. It contributes both directly and indirectly through supporting market intelligence, research, data collection and diagnostics.

The FFR works directly and indirectly with diaspora organisations to support migration for sustainable development and diaspora investment in rural areas.