Migration, Trade and Investments

On 26 September 2023, the US President Biden announced the inaugural members of the President’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement in the United States. The establishment of this Council was a significant commitment announced by Vice President Harris on behalf of the Biden-Harris Administration during the 2022 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, aimed at enhancing dialogue between United States officials and the African Diaspora.

The O-REMIT project by the International Organization for Migration uses data from various sources to analyze transaction costs and aim for a threshold below 3%. This provides insights on cost-efficient remittance options and help the diaspora in Belgium make meaningful investments in their home country.

Three streams will be implemented:

Stream 1: Understand the remittance flows and behaviour of diaspora in Belgium.

DIASDEV is a joint project initiated by the French Development Agency and the Caisse des Dépôts from France, Italy, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia and carried out in partnership with public-sector financial institutions in 2021. 

DIASDEV aims to increase diasporas’ capacity to mobilize their savings for investing in their countries of origin. To achieve this goal, the project is structured around two pillars: 

i) Facilitation fund for diasporas’ investments, offering funding for technical and financial assistance to financial operators, banks, post offices 

This action was submitted through the GFMD Mayors Mechanism Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees.
The Welcoming San José Plan is a community-derived set of 23 strategies across four core pillars which aim to facilitate and accelerate immigrant inclusion in civic, economic, linguistic, and social aspects of life in San José and ensure that immigrants and refugees are engaged, respected, and have opportunities to reach their fullest potential.
The Four Pillars of the Welcoming San José Plan are:

The COVID-19 pandemic hindered the mobility of goods, services and people all around the world and regional and national authorities struggled to find common guidelines which could be applied homogenously. This was the case also for the Eastern and Southern African region, where different Regional Economic Communities (RECs) operate simultaneously, resulting in overlapping memberships with several countries in the region belonging to various RECs.

Through its Financing Facility for Remittances (FFR), IFAD is working to mobilize Malian migrant investment to encourage economic development entrepreneurism and employment in Mali, and to stimulate the economic inclusion of young Malians and offer them an alternative to migration, particularly in rural areas.

Across Latin America and the Caribbean, Banking on Women helps financial institutions offer women entrepreneurs financial and non-financial services such as advisory support. Through Banking on Women, IFC has supported female entrepreneurs with direct investments, mobilized investments, and advice through banks in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Mexico.

FAO Safe Access to Fuel and Energy (SAFE) initiative addresses energy needs during emergencies and protracted crises, and builds resilient livelihoods in a sustainable manner. The work of the SAFE project in this area can have important multiplier effects – from better food security, nutrition and health, to the sustainable management of natural resources, greater resilience to climate change and natural hazards, and increased livelihood opportunities. 

The Handbook for Armenians Abroad was published in 2010 by the Armenian Ministry of Diaspora with the support of the ILO-EU project 'Towards Sustainable Partnerships for the Effective Governance of Labour Migration in the Russian Federation, the Caucasus and Central Asia'.

The Republic of Korea has built infrastructure that directly links national remittance service providers with those in receiving countries to provide real-time remittance services at affordable costs, through the removal of intermediary services such as SWIFT and the establishment of bilateral partnerships between clearing and settlement institutions (e.g. the Korea Financial Telecommunications and clearing institutions).