UNCTAD-WAIPA Global Investment Promotion Conference

Excellencies, ladies, and gentlemen,

I bid you welcome you to the UNCTAD-WAIPA Global Investment Promotion Conference. Due to conflicting commitments, I unfortunately cannot join you today in a live setting.

While we prepare for the holiday season, the world is still in the grip of the coronavirus disease. The pandemic affects people’s health, our everyday lives and our livelihoods. The economic disruptions triggered by the COVID-19 crisis have been global and unprecedented, with important consequences for the international investment landscape, which is being transformed.

Global foreign direct investment flows in the first half of 2020 were down 49% compared to 2019 as lockdowns around the world slowed existing investment projects and the prospects of a deep recession led multinational enterprises to re-assess new projects. The decline has cut across all major forms of FDI. Greenfield investment project announcements, cross-border mergers and acquisitions and new cross-border project finance deals have all declined considerably.

The outlook remains highly uncertain and prospects depend on the duration of the health crisis and the effectiveness of policy responses, which have been mixed across countries. Vast rescue packages and government support programmes around the world, particularly in developed countries, have sought to protect the private sector. These have included a mix of investment facilitation and investment liberalization measures. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in intensified screening of foreign investment for national security measures, including measures that aim at safeguarding and strengthening domestic capacities relating to healthcare, pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and equipment.

Despite the 2020 drop, FDI remains the most important source of external finance for developing countries. Other sources, including remittances and official development assistance – which are more important for least developed countries – are also falling. The overall decline will add to external payments problems in many developing countries.

Against this backdrop, promoting and facilitating investment is more important than ever. The pandemic has highlighted the critical role of investment promotion agencies and other government institutions, such as special economic zones, that promote and facilitate investment.  Their focus is evolving from crisis support and relief, towards recovery and ultimately reform. As many agencies undergo a re-strategizing process, they need to stay informed of the investment mega trends and policy evolution to understand the consequences for investment promotion.

What this government re-strategizing process will entail is the focus of this inaugural summit of the Global Investment Promotion Conference today. I am very pleased to welcome such high-level participants from the public and business sectors and I look forward to hearing your insights.

Before closing, let me say that it is a pleasure for UNCTAD to have partnered with the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) for this two-day conference. During these challenging times, working closely with strategic partners, like WAIPA, is now more critical than ever. I look forward to the continuation of this partnership in our efforts to support a post-pandemic economic recovery with a strong focus on sustainability.

I wish you all very productive deliberations.

Thank you.