The Ad-Hoc Expert Meeting on Contribution of Migrants to Development: Trade, Investment and Development Linkages was convened by the Secretary-General of UNCTAD in Geneva at the Palais des Nations on 29 July 2009. The Meeting was held in accordance with the Accra Accord, which mandated UNCTAD to consider the contribution of migrants to development, including through research and analysis on “the potential benefits and opportunities of trade, investment and development links between countries of origin of migrants and their communities abroad” and on “the potential of migrants’ remittances to contribute to development, maximize benefits derived and minimize costs through policies such as expanding migrant's access financial services”.

This note reviews the motivations behind (a) international migration; (b) recent international migration trends and their impacts on development; (c) national experiences; and (d) various policies that countries have implemented to maximize the positive development impacts of international migration, particularly those aimed at strengthening diaspora networks and their capacity to deliver enhanced development benefits in both sending and receiving countries. Attention is also focussed on the impact of the financial and economic crisis on migrants and on migration’s positive trade, investment and development impacts, including remittance flows to developing countries.