When: 8-10 May 2018

What: Global Forum on Remittances, Investment and Development (GFRID) 2018 - Asia-Pacific

Where: Sasana Kijang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Who: Keynote speakers for the opening on 8 May

• Muhammad bin Ibrahim, Governor, Central Bank of Malaysia
• Charlotte Salford, Associate Vice President, International Fund for Agricultural Development
• Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, Senior Director, Finance, Competitiveness & Innovation Global Practice, World Bank Group

Each year, billions of dollars in remittances are sent by migrants to their families in the Asia-Pacific Region. And while this money provides a lifeline for families who use it to cover basic needs and invest in their future, it also has a tremendous economic impact on the region more broadly.

Driven by the sheer volume of remittances as well as digital innovations, remittance markets in the region have been fast-evolving over the last few years. At the same time, there has been greater awareness of the significant social and economic contribution migrant workers and diasporas make towards development.

A unique event, the three-day Global Forum on Remittances, Investment and Development (GFRID) for the Asia Pacific region brings together more than 300 policy-makers, private-sector market players and civil-society leaders from all over the world.

Together they will explore winning strategies to leverage the development impact of remittances, in particular through more efficient remittance markets and services, better financial inclusion and meaningful diaspora investments.

The forum is organized by Bank Negara Malaysia (the Central Bank of Malaysia), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Bank Group. Bank Negara Malaysia is the Forum host.

Discussions will feed into the ongoing national, regional and global efforts to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as the ongoing negotiations towards a UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.

Available for interviews:

• IFAD: Pedro de Vasconcelos, Senior Technical Advisor and Manager of the Financing Facility for Remittances, IFAD
• Bank Negara Malaysia: Nik Mohamed Din Nik Musa, Director, Money Services Business Regulation Department, Bank Negara Malaysia

Forum highlights:

• Plenary, workshop and concurrent sessions featuring thought leaders, industry captains and policy makers.
• IFAD will launch RemitSCOPE Asia-Pacific, an analysis of remittance markets, industry trends, regulatory practices and opportunities in today’s Asia-Pacific remittance market.
• The GFRID is hosting the RemTech Awards for the second year to highlight the most outstanding innovations designed to improve remittances services, in particular speed, costs and reliability for companies and remittance senders and receivers.

Journalists must accredit no later than 7 May COB. For accreditation, contact Jessica Thomas, j.thomas@ifad.org, Tel: +39 06 5459 2215.

For more information, you may visit the event website.

Media Alert No.: MA/05/2018

IFAD has invested in rural people for 40 years, empowering them to reduce poverty, increase food security, improve nutrition and strengthen resilience. Since 1978, we have provided about US$19.7 billion in grants and low-interest loans to projects that have reached some 474 million people. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency based in Rome – the UN’s food and agriculture hub.

For more information on the Bank Negara Malaysia, please visit www.bnm.gov.my

In March 2016, the World Bank Group officially launched its Global Knowledge and Research Hub in Malaysia. The new Hub is the first of its kind, serving both as a field presence in Malaysia and as a global knowledge and research hub. It focuses on sharing Malaysia’s people-centered development expertise and creating new innovative policy research on local, regional and global issues.

For more information on the World Bank, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/malaysia