19.01.2021 | DIE: Online Event: The potential value-added of an Investment Facilitation Framework for Development

The event will focus on the potential value-added of a WTO Investment Facilitation Framework for Development. It is well established that countries seek to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), to advance their economic growth and development. However, since the bulk of any investment facilitation effort is undertaken at the national level, one must ask why seeking to create a multilateral framework (which is a difficult and time-consuming effort) is important and should be endeavored, especially in the current political climate.

The principal purpose of a multilateral investment facilitation framework is to further increase FDI flows for development and enhance international cooperation in the investment area. During the event, the following issues related to the potential value-added of an Investment Facilitation Framework for Development will be addressed:

  • Potential costs and benefits of such a Framework.
  • Helping domestic reforms and facilitating more sustainable FDI flows.
  • Requiring transparency of home country measures and encouraging the observance of investors’ CSR commitments.
  • Maintaining an inventory and benchmarks of good investment facilitation practices and increasing technical assistance.

This is the 6th of a webinar series on investment facilitation for development, held in the framework of a joint ITC/DIE project on Investment Facilitation for Development.

Agenda and Speakers

Introduction

  • Rajesh Aggarwal, Chief Trade Facilitation and Policy for Business, ITC

Moderator

  • Karl P. Sauvant, Resident Senior Fellow, Columbia University, CCSI

Potential welfare gains from different investment facilitation frameworks: interim results

Panel

  • Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Executive Director, IISD Europe
  • Jansen Calamita, Head of Investment Law & Policy, Centre for International Law, and Research Associate Professor (CIL), Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore
  • Anabel González, Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics
  • Yewande Sadiku, Executive Secretary/CEO, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission
  • Matthew Stephenson, Policy and Community Lead, International Trade and Investment, World Economic Forum

Concluding remarks

The event will be conducted in an interactive manner and allow for questions by participants. If you would like to send written questions or comments during the event, please feel free to type them into the chat window by clicking on the “chat” button on the middle-bottom pane of the Zoom window.

Click here to register for the event and receive the meeting link details.

To join the meeting, kindly click on the link that will be sent to you shortly before 15:00 pm CET on 19 January and follow the instructions. If you are not able to connect online, you could connect using the dial-up options provided in the email that you will receive after completing the registration.

More information

Source: Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), 14 January 2021