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UNCTAD´s 2nd world investment forum set for 6-9 September in Xiamen, China


Press Release
For use of information media - Not an official record
UNCTAD/PRESS/PR/2010/032
UNCTAD´s 2nd world investment forum set for 6-9 September in Xiamen, China

Geneva, Switzerland, 26 August 2010

Eleven Heads of State, numerous ministers and investment experts will attend

Geneva, 26 August 2010 -- Some of the greatest minds and movers in the field of investment will assemble in Xiamen, China, from 6-9 September at UNCTAD´s World Investment Forum 2010 to discuss how to promote sustainable investment and development in the new phase of globalization and take advantage of opportunities that could arise across the globe.

More than 1,000 people from 90 countries are expected to attend the WIF 2010, including investors and representatives of governments, businesses, international organizations, investment promotion agencies, and civil society.

Among the participants will be 11 Heads of State, 53 ministers and ministerial-level officials, 200 senior business executives, 46 senior academic experts, 20 senior representatives of international organizations, and numerous chiefs of national investment promotion agencies.

The World Investment Forum is a biennial event.

Highlights of the 2010 conference include:

  • World Leaders Investment Summit: Political leaders and CEOs of the world´s largest transnational corporations will discuss the new international investment landscape in the post-crisis era. They will identify policy options for maximizing the developmental benefits of foreign investment and for taking advantage of new opportunities as the world emerges from recession.
  • Ministerial Round Table: Ministers in charge of investment policies from leading investment source and recipient countries, as well as heads of international organizations, will address such issues as balancing investment liberalization and regulation and enhancing coherence between national and international investment policies.
  • High-level Tripartite Conference: CEOs and chief strategists of global corporations, senior government officials, and heads of investment promotion agencies will join leading experts in identifying key issues affecting FDI and in discussing the impacts of investment on sustainable development. Main topics will include world investment prospects, finding new strategies for investment promotion, and promoting green investment.
  • The 2010 International Investment Agreements Conference will bring together policymakers, negotiators, and investors to discuss challenges facing the international investment agreement (IIA) regime. These include policies for generating tangible development benefits in the post-crisis investment landscape; the interaction of the IIA regime with key public policies (such as climate change); and the systemic evolution of the IIA regime and the investor-State dispute settlement system.
  • At the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Conference 2010, CEOs of stock exchanges, large institutional investors and issuers, and senior securities regulators will examine how stock exchanges can promote sustainable business practices and responsible capital markets.
  • A special conference on Promoting Responsible Sovereign Lending and Borrowing will provide an occasion for senior government officials, central bank governors, and high-level representatives of international organizations to discuss the promotion of responsible lending and borrowing.
  • During the 8th Meeting of the UNCTAD-International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Investment Advisory Council, Heads of State, government ministers, executives of global companies, and heads of international institutions will debate practical means for addressing obstacles to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through investment.
  • Investment Showcase events will include "investment climate" presentations by government ministers from Cambodia, Jordan, Lao People´s Democratic Republic, Namibia, Viet Nam, and Zambia to investors. There also will be presentations on the investment guide programmes of UNCTAD and the China Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA).
  • Other events include the launching of the G15 of Law Schools network, which is dedicated to promoting academic exchanges on international investment law, and the UNCTAD Investment Promotion Award 2010.

The complete conference programme is available on the WIF 2010 website at www.unctad-worldinvestmenforum.org.

To reserve a place at the WIF, please fill in the online registration form:WIF 2010 REGISTRATION