In the absence of remittances, many LDCs would have been significantly more dependent on ODA, although, as the IPoA has rightly pointed out, remittance cannot be a substitute for FDI, ODA, debt relief or other public sources of finance for development. The General Assembly of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, at its IPoA progress review meeting held in July 2012, acknowledged that the size of remittances is of particular benefit to Asian LDCs, where it outpaced other sources of financing such as ODA and FDI (UN 2012). However, to realise the full potential of remittance flow, other supportive back-up measures including basic infrastructure are needed.