Abu Dhabi will this year host the United Nations forum on investment and technology for sustainable development between December 6-10.
The seventh biennial UNCTAD World Investment Forum and the first-ever Asian e-Commerce Week will bring together government leaders, global CEOs and other investment stakeholders to promote investment for sustainable development.
This follows the signing of the Host Country Agreement between UNCTAD Secretary General Mukhisa Kituyi and UAE Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Economy for Foreign Trade Affairs Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al Saleh February 13 to host the forum.
“The World Investment Forum is the largest global platform for high-level dialogue and action on investment and development. This year’s edition will seek to accelerate actions to align international investment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals,” a statement by UNCTAd said on Monday.
The WIF was established in 2008 to fill a systemic gap in global economic governance.
Dr Kituyi called for an increase in investments, saying they must be mobilized into areas of greatest need to ensure inclusive prosperity.
He also noted that the World Investment Forum #WIF2020 will accelerate actions to align international investment with the SDGs.
“I thank the United Arab Emirates for offering to host this important forum,” Dr. Kituyi said at the signing.
Al Saleh said the forum is a unique platform to facilitate policymaking and joint action that is necessary to stimulate investments in development areas.
A close link will be sought with the underlying theme of the World Expo 2020, “Connecting Minds. Creating the Future.”
The forum will provide attendees with the opportunity to interact with high-level participants from the global investment community, including heads of state and government and ministers.
Other regular participants are executives of global companies and stock exchanges, sovereign wealth fund managers, investment treaty negotiators, heads of investment promotion agencies, international investment location experts, heads of international organizations, parliamentarians, civil society representatives, eminent scholars, and the international media.
KEY ISSUES
The forum will focus on three key issues facing the global investment and development community through a series of high-level events:
One, how investment stakeholders can engage more rapidly to integrate sustainability into investment decisions and business operations and create long-term value and sustainable development impact.
Two, how governments and businesses can respond to the development consequences of technological change and its impact on investment, harnessing its potential, while mitigating the risks of premature de-industrialization and social change.
Third are the implications of increasing fragmentation in international economic policymaking, especially in trade and investment, which have led to a rise in protectionism, as well as an emphasis on regionalism.
“These issues pose both challenges and opportunities for the global investment community,” UNCTAD’s director of investment and enterprise James Zhan said.
“The forum will help advance an action-oriented, solutions-driven policy agenda, that will bring the SDGs to fruition,” Zhan said.
