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19, June 2025

Armenia’s PM accuses head of Church of fathering child ⁰

Armenia’s liberal government has never been an ally of the deeply conservative Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC), but when Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made extraordinary allegations against an unnamed senior clergyman, it blew open a deep divide.

“Your Grace, go fool around with your uncle’s wife. What do you want from me?” said Pashinyan.

He also accused the supreme spiritual leader – Catholicos Karekin II – of breaking his vow of celibacy and fathering a child, calling on him to resign. The BBC has approached the Church for comment but has not had a response.

Until now the Church and government had found a way to co-exist, but the row threatens to split an already polarised Armenian society still further – and affect the outcome of next year’s election.

It could also harm peace talks that have the potential to re-shape the entire region of the South Caucasus, after Armenia’s bitter defeat in a war against Azerbaijan.

Before their split, Pashinyan and the Catholicos attended public events and visited front lines together

Armenia is believed to be the first nation to make Christianity the state religion, after its king was baptised in 301AD. Although there is a separation of Church and state by law, the Armenian constitution recognises the AAC “as a national Church”.

The Church has not addressed the allegations but said the prime minister had sought “to silence its voice”. It has reiterated that the government has no say in the matters of Church governance.

If true, Pashinyan’s allegation would make the Catholicos unfit for office. Under the Church’s by-laws, only monks who took a vow of celibacy can be elected a Catholicos.

On these grounds Pashinyan now demands Karekin’s resignation, despite having no jurisdiction over the Church. He has presented no evidence but threatened to release it.

Pashinyan has also attacked other senior clergymen, including accusing one archbishop of having an affair, with the extraordinary allegation of “fooling around” with his uncle’s wife.

The opposition parties and two of Armenia’s former presidents, Levon Ter-Petrossian and Serzh Sargsyan, have rallied behind the Church and condemned Pashinyan’s move against it.

The government’s relationship with the Church deteriorated after the defeat in the 2020 war against neighbouring Azerbaijan, when Karekin II joined calls from various political factions for the prime minister to step down.

Pashinyan stayed in power, and the Church became a prominent anti-government voice.

Recently, Karekin II demanded the right of return for the Armenians who fled Nagorno-Karabakh, a region of Azerbaijan that it recaptured in 2023.

The prime minister’s allies are unhappy with such interventions, as they contradict the government’s position in the ongoing peace talks.

Pashinyan pushes for a swift peace treaty that would see both countries drop mutual claims. But Azerbaijani media seized on nationalist opposition demands as proof that Armenia is not ready for peace.

The Armenian Church has benefited from becoming a hub for dissent. With personal rivalries between the leaders of opposition parties, it is drawing in those disaffected with the authorities.

Political analysts in Armenia suggest this might be a real reason for the government’s sudden attack on the Church leader.

The next general election has been scheduled for June 2026, and the anti-Church campaign could be a pre-emptive strike against the stronghold of conservative opposition.

The prime minister himself has linked his position to politics: “We returned the state to the people. Now we must return the Church to the people.”

When a powerful benefactor spoke out in support of the Church this week, the government swiftly moved against him.

Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan threatened to “intervene in the campaign against the Church in our own way” if opposition politicians failed to defend it.

Hours later, his residence was raided and on Wednesday he was charged with “making public calls to overthrow the government”. He denies the charge.

Source: BBC

19, June 2025

CPDM Alliance: going, going, gone ⁰

President Paul Biya’s once-solid alliances in Cameroon’s Greater North region are fracturing as the 2025 presidential election draws near. Political heavyweights in the region are breaking ranks, threatening the longstanding pact that has delivered Biya massive electoral support.

Issa Tchiroma Bakary, Minister of Employment and Vocational Training and leader of the National Front for the Salvation of Cameroon (FSNC), fired the loudest warning shot. On June 13 in Garoua, his home turf, Tchiroma delivered a blistering speech against the regime he officially supports. He stood before a loyal crowd and spoke in the local language, blaming the government for the North’s misery—rampant unemployment, grinding poverty, and institutional neglect.

“How can people work when they apply for jobs, but never get hired, never get help, and nothing is done for them? We are in misery. Someone seeking happiness will tell you to vote to stay poor. Isn’t that a misfortune? It is a misfortune,” Tchiroma declared. He added, “If one day, I, Issa Tchiroma, ask you to vote for what brings you misery, then I am wicked.”

Tchiroma’s message went further. He called on Northerners to unite and break free from 42 years of hardship. “We haven’t solved your old problems. But if we unite now, we can solve them for good. The Lord has awakened us—it’s time to act. When the time comes, put in your envelope what will end our misery,” he urged, his words carefully coded but clear.

RDPC Reacts: Calls for Tchiroma’s Ouster

The ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (RDPC) erupted in outrage. Hervé Emmanuel Nkom, a senior party official, demanded Tchiroma’s immediate removal from government. “We must draw consequences from shifting positions. We can’t move forward with uncertain allies,” Nkom said on Bnews. “After this statement, the minimum is that Issa Tchiroma Bakary leaves the government,” he insisted, arguing no one can serve inside the system while attacking it from outside.

Political analyst Philippe Nsoa called Tchiroma “consistently inconsistent.” On Le Club, Nsoa noted, “For 16 years as minister, Tchiroma only praised Paul Biya. Now he makes a dramatic U-turn, but it’s not his first.”

Wider Political Realignment in the North

Tchiroma’s stance signals a deeper shift in the Grand North. The region’s near-automatic support for Biya is fading as new voices call for change. The National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP) will meet on June 28 in Yaoundé, with internal factions demanding a split from the RDPC. Bello Bouba Maïgari, UNDP’s leader, faces mounting dissent.

Abdouraman Babba Hamadou, a prominent Northern figure, recently called for a “national republican surge” ahead of 2025. In a widely shared op-ed, he wrote, “To reclaim our country in the next election, we must unite supporters of change from all backgrounds. Let the wind of change blow across Cameroon!”

Tchiroma and Babba Hamadou may not share a party, but both urge the Grand North to rally for change, challenging its reputation as a regime stronghold.

ANDP Remains Loyal to Biya

Not all Northern leaders are abandoning Biya. The National Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ANDP), another longtime RDPC ally, stands firm. Party president Hamadou Moustapha declared unwavering support for Biya on August 3, 2024, in Tokombéré. “We will go to the presidential elections. Now is the time to thank the president. In the next election, President Biya will be our candidate. We have supported him and will support him again and again,” Moustapha said.

Despite the RDPC’s deep roots in the North, the open dissent of figures like Tchiroma, internal UNDP rifts, and activism from leaders like Babba Hamadou and Guibai Gatama raise a critical question: Can Paul Biya still count on the Grand North to keep his grip on power?

Source: Business in Cameroon

18, June 2025

Douala airport officials send back Cameroonian Irish citizen on same plane ⁰

Francophone immigration officers have sent back a Cameroonian Irish citizen who travelled from Dublin on the same Air France plane she arrived on, questioning whether she was granted a genuine Cameroonian visa.

Enow Maureen had flown to Douala using her Irish passport with a visa that was issued by the Cameroon embassy in Brussels.

The airport officials said they could not allow her to enter her country of origin because her visa was non-existent.

She reportedly presented evidence to the Francophone officers that her visa was gotten from the Cameroon embassy in Belgium but met with a stone wall.

The Douala airport officials did not reply to requests for comment by the Cameroon Concord News.

Speaking to our London Bureau Chief, Enow Maureen wondered aloud “what type of immigration Cameroon as a nation is having” including refusing her the possibility of applying for a clearance visa at the Douala International airport.

By Chi Prudence Asong

18, June 2025

Biya’s health, Ambazonia violence looms over October presidential vote ⁰

Cameroon is counting down to a presidential election with key questions over the health of 92-year-old veteran leader Paul Biya, separatist violence in its English-speaking regions and ethnic tensions all unresolved.

With less than four months until the first ballot is cast, any prospective challenger will have to soon announce their tilt at taking over the central African nation at a tough time for the economy.

Ratings agency Fitch on May 9 predicted that should Biya run he would win the upcoming vote, “guaranteeing political and policy continuity” at a time of upheaval for many ordinary Cameroonians.

In the capital Yaounde, Biya’s likeness is plastered — as usual — on billboards all over the city, while his critics are nowhere to be seen.

Yet Biya, who came to power in 1982, has kept schtum on whether he will run in October’s election to extend his more than four-decade rule.

Given Biya is already the world’s oldest head of state, questions over his health and capacity to govern have dominated debate over the vote.

Cameroon’s opposition appears more fragmented than ever, undermining its ability to oust the longtime leader despite the favourable political winds.

That Biya’s critics have been unable to agree on a unity candidate is largely down to “the egoism of the players, the lack of humility of the leaders, ideological fractures and the whiff of tribalism”, said Simeon Ekodo Mveng, a political researcher at Laval University.

University of Yaounde 1 professor Charles Romain Mbele said that the opposition had decided to band together in various groups “to give itself a chance”.

“We see that that is laborious, while the ruling party is firmly rooted across the nation, with alliances with other parties in government,” he added.

Since 2016 Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions have been riven by conflict between English-speaking separatists and the government.

Many Cameroonian English-speakers say they face systemic discrimination in the majority French-speaking country.

But what began as a civil rights protest quickly descended into armed insurrection.

According to the latest estimates by Human Rights Watch, the fighting has killed at least 6,000 civilians so far.

Separatist groups have carried out kidnappings and attacks on civilians and officials, while the army and police are accused of launching raids aimed at punishing alleged separatist sympathisers.

All the while Boko Haram jihadists have been sowing terror at the other end of the country in the Far North region, where the group has been active since 2009.

The various security crises have uprooted many Cameroonians from their homes and pose a challenge to the peaceful conduct of the elections.

Beyond the fighting out in the open, Cameroon also faces the more insidious menace of ethnic rivalry.

Fractures along identity lines have deepened, while at times the political debate has regressed to an ethnic mud-slinging match.

“In election periods, stereotyped rhetoric resurfaces, pitting the ‘Bamileke’ often considered to be economically dominant against the ‘Beti’, the group which President Paul Biya comes from,” said Baba Wame, a professor at the University of Yaounde II.

“These narratives are sometimes amplified by anonymous accounts or local influencers,” Wame added.

The official line, which Biya has taken to social media to repeat, is that ethnic discrimination must be fought.

But, although Cameroon has had a law against hate speech and tribalist rhetoric on the books since 2019, its enforcement has only ever been hesitant, while perpetrators never face prosecution in the courts.

As Cameroonians prepare to head to the polls, the nation’s economic difficulties will have hit many voters in the wallet.

Many are unemployed, including nearly three-quarters of the country’s young people, according to Gabriel Fandja, who heads the National Assembly’s education commission.

Inflation, which according to official statistics hit five percent in 2024, has eaten away at their purchasing power.

Access to safe drinking water, healthcare and decent education remains out of reach for many.

Those tensions have worried Cameroon’s households and the country’s international financial partners alike.

Whether on social networks or during televised debates, ordinary Cameroonians have raised their voices to criticise the cost of living and the lack of basic services.

Increasingly vented in the open, the frustrations reflect a profound social malaise in the run-up to the presidential ballot.

Culled from AFP

18, June 2025

BEAC Governor calls for urgent restoration of SONARA ⁰

Yvon Sana Bangui, Governor of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), is urging CEMAC countries to refine their own crude oil. He noted that the six CEMAC nations collectively spend approximately 2 trillion CFA francs annually on imported petroleum products like gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and domestic gas. This spending continues despite five of the six countries, excluding the Central African Republic, being crude oil producers.

Speaking on June 17, 2025, in Yaoundé during “Finance Week,” a platform for financial stakeholders, the BEAC governor argued that building crude oil refineries within CEMAC could significantly reduce or even eliminate these imports. This shift, he emphasized, would help preserve and strengthen the region’s foreign exchange reserves, which are currently strained by the heavy reliance on fuel imports. These reserves consist of foreign currency payments received by states and their economic agents, enabling them to make payments to international partners.

“We have the raw material, and its price trend is downward. Let’s commit to an import-substitution strategy and refine our oil,” Bangui declared. He added, “The cost of road infrastructure awaited by economic operators is very high in our region. To avoid this, we must locally produce bitumen. We must locally produce lubricants. All of this comes from oil. Even fertilizer can be produced from oil.”

The Sonara Refinery Fire and Regional Self-Sufficiency

This isn’t the first time Bangui has advocated for building oil refineries in the CEMAC zone to protect foreign exchange reserves from the impact of imported refined petroleum products. On June 24, 2024, during a press conference following the BEAC Monetary Policy Committee’s second ordinary session, he stated, “In Cameroon, I am calling for the urgent restoration of Sonara—the National Refining Company.”

Cameroon has been importing all its refined petroleum products since a fire destroyed Sonara in May 2019. At the time of the incident, Sonara was refining imported oil, not Cameroonian crude. The rehabilitation of Sonara, estimated at 250 billion CFA francs, was initially scheduled to begin in 2022 but remains pending.

Bangui’s call for Sonara’s rehabilitation echoes his statements made on June 14, 2024, during a visit to the Djermaya refinery in Chad. There, he urged company leaders to increase production to curb imports. “Today, the fact that all CEMAC countries import petroleum products places enormous pressure on our foreign exchange reserves. I issue a solemn call to the authorities and company leaders to do everything necessary to meet national and subregional demand,” he asserted.

Source: Business in Cameroon

18, June 2025

Kenya’s Bishop Deya dies in road crash ⁰

Controversial Kenyan televangelist Gilbert Deya, who claimed he created miraculous pregnancies, has died in a road crash.

Police told local media that Deya died on the spot on Tuesday evening after his vehicle was involved in an accident with a university bus and another vehicle near the town of Kisumu in western Kenya.

At least 30 other people were reportedly injured, including a person identified as his wife and a passenger in his vehicle, and 15 students in the bus.

Deya, who ran a church in London, rose to infamy in the early 2000s, following his claim that he could help infertile couples conceive “miracle” babies through prayer.

Investigations later linked his church to an alleged child-trafficking ring, leading to his arrest and extradition from the UK eight years ago after a decade-long legal battle.

He was acquitted of the charges in 2023 due to insufficient evidence.

On Wednesday, Siaya County Governor James Orengo said he had learnt with “deep sorrow and regret of the passing on of Bishop Gilbert Deya”.

He confirmed that the “horrific” road accident had involved a vehicle belonging to the county.

Photos shared online showed the mangled wreckage of one of the vehicles, which was completely shattered in the accident.

A former stonemason-turned evangelist, Deya moved from Kenya to London in the mid-1990s, where he founded Gilbert Deya Ministries, a registered charity with branches across the UK and Africa.

He was known for his charismatic preaching style and claimed to have been consecrated as an archbishop by a US evangelist in 1992.

His ministries later faced multiple investigations by the UK authorities for alleged mismanagement and legal violations, including selling olive oil which were falsely claiming to have healing properties.

He was once described by UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, then an MP, as a “modern-day snake-oil salesman who has conned and betrayed his vulnerable congregation”.

At his church, desperate women, some past their menopause and others who were unable to conceive, would be convinced that they would become pregnant through prayer.

But the babies were always “delivered” in backstreet clinics in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. The prosecution said the babies were stolen from poor Kenyan families.

In 2011, his then wife Mary Deya was jailed after being found guilty of stealing a baby from the main referral hospital in Kenya’s capital Nairobi and falsely stating she had given birth to the baby.

When Deya was asked in a BBC investigation in 2014 how the alleged “miracle” children had different DNA to that of their alleged parents, he said it was “beyond human imagination”.

“It is not something I can say. I can explain because they are of God and things of God cannot be explained by a human being,” he said.

After his acquittal in 2023, Deya maintained his innocence and continued his religious outreach until his death, reportedly at 72.

Source: BBC

17, June 2025

Indomitable Lions: Marc Brys heading to Saudi club Al-Nassr ⁰

Following the near-certain departure of Stefano Pioli from Al-Nassr, the Saudi club is actively searching for a new head coach. Unexpectedly, the spotlight has turned to the national team manager.

Pioli, who replaced Luís Castro last autumn, failed to achieve any notable success with Al-Nassr: no trophies were lifted, and the team did not qualify for the AFC Champions League.

Belgian coach Marc Brys, 62, has been leading the Cameroon national side since last year, according to Belgian outlet Het Laatste Nieuws. Brys previously coached in Saudi Arabia between 2013 and 2015, managing Al-Raed and Najran SC — a factor that has caught the attention of Al-Nassr’s management.

Brys’s appointment in Cameroon sparked significant controversy, as he was selected by the Ministry of Sports without the consent of the Cameroon Football Federation, headed by Samuel Eto’o. This caused a serious rift between the two parties. However, Eto’o later apologized, and since then Brys has guided Cameroon to the final stages of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), remaining unbeaten with seven wins in 12 matches.

According to Walfoot.be, Al-Nassr’s leadership is impressed by how Brys handled the delicate situation. They are keen to appoint a coach capable of managing a star-studded squad featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mané, Marcelo Brozović, and Aymeric Laporte. Despite this glittering lineup, the club has not lifted the Saudi league title in six seasons, with the last triumph coming under Rui Vitória.

Brys boasts over 20 years of coaching experience in Belgium. Before moving to Africa, he spent three and a half seasons in charge of Leuven.

Additionally, Brys has international experience from stints in Jordan with Al-Faisaly and in the Netherlands with Den Bosch and FC Eindhoven.

Source: Footboom

17, June 2025

Social media now main source of news in US ⁰

Social media and video networks have become the main source of news in the US, overtaking traditional TV channels and news websites, research suggests.

More than half (54%) of people get news from networks like Facebook, X and YouTube – overtaking TV (50%) and news sites and apps (48%), according to the Reuters Institute.

“The rise of social media and personality-based news is not unique to the United States, but changes seem to be happening faster – and with more impact – than in other countries,” a report found.

Podcaster Joe Rogan was the most widely-seen personality, with almost a quarter (22%) of the population saying they had come across news or commentary from him in the previous week.

The report’s author Nic Newman said the rise of social video and personality-driven news “represents another significant challenge for traditional publishers”.

The institute also highlighted a trend for some politicians to give their time to sympathetic online hosts rather than mainstream interviewers.

It said populist politicians around the world are “increasingly able to bypass traditional journalism in favour of friendly partisan media, ‘personalities’, and ‘influencers’ who often get special access but rarely ask difficult questions, with many implicated in spreading false narratives or worse”.

Despite their popularity, online influencers and personalities were named as a major source of false or misleading information by almost half of people worldwide (47%) – putting them level with politicians.

The report also stated that usage of X for news is “stable or increasing across many markets”, with the biggest uplift in the US.

It added that since Elon Musk took over the network in 2022, “many more right-leaning people, notably young men, have flocked to the network, while some progressive audiences have left or are using it less frequently”.

In the US, the proportion that self-identified as being on the right tripled after Musk’s takeover.

In the UK, right-wing X audiences have almost doubled.

Rival networks like Threads, Bluesky and Mastodon are “making little impact globally, with reach of 2% or less for news”, it stated.

Other key findings about news sources:

TikTok is the fastest-growing social and video network, used for news by 17% of people around the world, up four percentage points since last year.

The use of AI chatbots to get the news is on the rise, and is twice as popular among under-25s than the population as a whole.

But most people think AI will make news less transparent, accurate and trustworthy.

All generations still prize trusted brands with a track record for accuracy, even if they don’t use them as often as they once did

The report is in its 14th year and surveyed almost 100,000 people in 48 countries.

Source: BBC

17, June 2025

Biya regime meets CFAF60 Billion 2022-29 bond payment ⁰

Cameroon has launched the disbursement of the third tranche of its 2022-2029 bond on May 27, 2025. This was announced by the Director General of the Central African Stock Exchange (BVMAC), Louis Banga-Ntolo, in a press release issued on June 11, 2025. Payments to investors began on May 28 through brokerage firms and account-holding banks.

A total of CFAF 61.6 billion will be distributed to investors who subscribed to this public bond issuance, which includes CFAF 14.6 billion in interest. The BVMAC specified that “the net coupon per bond amounts to CFAF 2,625, comprising CFAF 2,000 in capital repayment and CFAF 625 in interest.”

Cameroon’s 2022-2029 bond, listed on the BVMAC on September 28, 2022, features a 6.5% interest rate and a seven-year maturity. This issuance allowed the government to raise CFAF 235 billion.

According to the Ministry of Finance, investor interest was strong, with offers totaling CFAF 239 billion, surpassing the initial target of CFAF 200 billion. This robust demand led the government to retain CFAF 235 billion, an amount authorized through an overallocation approval granted by COSUMAF, the sub-regional financial market regulator.

Source: Business in Cameroon

17, June 2025

Flows of foreign direct investment to developing economies drop to lowest level ⁰

Flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) into developing economies—a key propellant of economic growth and higher living standards—have dwindled to the lowest level since 2005 amid rising trade and investment barriers, new research from the World Bank shows. These barriers pose a significant threat to global efforts to mobilize financing for development.

In 2023, the latest year for which data are available, developing economies received just $435 billion in FDI—the lowest level since 2005. That coincides with a global trend in which FDI flows into advanced economies have also slowed to a trickle: high-income economies received just $336 billion in 2023, the lowest level since 1996. As a share of their GDP, FDI inflows to developing economies in 2023 were just 2.3 percent, about half the number during the peak year of 2008.

“What we’re seeing is a result of public policy,” said Indermit Gill, the World Bank Group’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President. “It’s not a coincidence that FDI is plumbing new lows at the same time that public debt is reaching record highs. Private investment will now have to power economic growth, and FDI happens to be one of the most productive forms of private investment. Yet, in recent years governments have been busy erecting barriers to investment and trade when they should be deliberately taking them down. They will have to ditch that bad habit.”

From June 30 to July 3, representatives of governments, international institutions, civil society organizations, and the private sector are scheduled to meet in Seville, Spain, to discuss how to mobilize the financing that will be needed to achieve key global and national development goals. The new analysis from the World Bank highlights the policies that will be needed to achieve those goals at a time when economic growth has slowed to a crawl, public debt has surged to record highs, and foreign-aid budgets have shrunk. Easing investment restrictions will be a key first step: so far in 2025, half of all FDI-related measures announced by governments in developing economies have been restrictive measures—the highest share since 2010.

“With the global community gearing up for the Conference on Financing for Development, the sharp drop in FDI to developing economies should sound alarm bells,” said M. Ayhan Kose, the World Bank Group’s Deputy Chief Economist and Director of the Prospects Group. “Reversing this slowdown is not just an economic imperative—it’s essential for job creation, sustained growth, and achieving broader development goals. It will require bold domestic reforms to improve the business climate and decisive global cooperation to revive cross-border investment.”

Investment treaties tend to boost FDI flows between signatory states by more than 40%, the analysis finds. Between 2010 and 2024, just 380 new investment treaties came into force, barely a third of the 1990s number. Similarly, the report finds that countries that are more open to trade tend to receive more FDI—an extra 0.6% in FDI for each percentage-point increase in the trade-to-GDP ratio. However, the number of new trade agreements signed over the past decade dropped in half—from an average of 11 per year in the 2010s to just six in the 2020s.

In 2023, FDI accounted for roughly half of the external financing flows received by developing economies. Under the right conditions, it is a strong spur to economic growth: analysis of data from 74 developing economies between 1995 and 2019 suggests that a 10% increase in FDI inflows generates a 0.3% increase in real GDP after three years. The impact is nearly three times larger—up to 0.8%—in countries with stronger institutions, better human capital, greater openness to trade, and lower informality. By the same token, the effect of FDI increases is much smaller in countries that lack such features.

FDI tends to be concentrated in the largest economies. Between 2012 and 2023, about two-thirds of FDI flows to developing economies went to just 10 countries, with China receiving nearly a third of the total and Brazil and India receiving roughly 10% and 6% respectively. The 26 poorest countries received barely 2% of the total. Advanced economies, moreover, accounted for nearly 90% of the total FDI in developing economies over the past decade. About half of that came from just two sources: the European Union and the United States.

The report identifies three policy priorities for developing economies.

First, redouble efforts to attract FDI. Easing FDI restrictions that have accumulated over the last decade would be a good start. So would speeding up improvements in the investment climate, which have stalled in many countries over the past decade. Strong macroeconomic outcomes—healthy growth and rising labor productivity—also help accelerate FDI flows, the analysis shows. An increase of 1% in a country’s labor productivity, for example, is associated with an increase of 0.7% in FDI inflows.

Second, amplify the economic benefits of FDI. Promoting trade integration, improving the quality of institutions, fostering human capital development, and encouraging more people to participate in the formal economy increase the benefits of FDI. Governments can also amplify the benefits by channeling FDI to sectors where the impact is greatest. FDI can also help increase job opportunities for women: the domestic affiliates of multinational enterprises, for example, tend to have a higher share of female employees than domestic firms.

Third, advance global cooperation. All countries should work together to accelerate policy initiatives that can help direct FDI flows to developing economies with the largest investment gaps. Especially in a time of high geopolitical tensions, the World Bank and other international institutions have a crucial role to play in supporting a rules-based order. Technical and financial assistance to support structural reform efforts in developing countries—especially low-income countries—are critical for facilitating FDI inflows. The World Bank Group, the world’s largest development bank, is playing a key role in mobilizing private capital—by creating instruments that lower financial risks for investors, by helping to improve market conditions in developing economies, and by scaling up its engagement with the private sector.

Culled from the World Bank