Global leaders gather for World Investment Forum 2023 in Abu Dhabi

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The 8^th World Investment Forum (WIF), organised by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), officially opened at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center on October 16. The event will run until October 20.

World Investment Forum 2023 has brought together heads of state, ministers, business leaders, financial experts, and investors to address urgent investment challenges caused by ongoing global crises.

Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, said: “The world is changing at an unprecedented pace, and new investment challenges and opportunities are emerging daily. In response, here in the UAE we continue to advance our ambitions of economic diversification alongside digital transformation, as we evolve into a leading knowledge and innovation-based economy underscored by a committed sustainable economic growth.”

Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, said: “Selecting Abu Dhabi to host the WIF is a reflection of the prominent role the UAE has come to play in leading global conversations on sustainable development and investment. Abu Dhabi provides an effective global platform for international talents, leaders, and investors. We are proud to partner with UNCTAD to organise the World Investment Forum as we unite with a common goal to foster collaboration, strengthen economic partnerships, and tackle the pressing global challenges of our era.

“Our conversations today to address challenges and develop solutions for priority issues in global investment and trade will feed into negotiations at COP28 scheduled for late November in the UAE.” 

UN leaders address participants at the World Investment Forum

Rebecca Gryspan, secretary general, UNCTAD, who opened the summit, told participants: “This forum is a global platform where you the leaders of government and businesses, experts and stakeholders converge to address the critical nexus between investment in sustainable development. Abu Dhabi being an excellent host, provides an idea in the backdrop for our discussions with its forward-thinking policies, modern infrastructure, and strategic locations. UAE serves as the beacon of progress in the region and beyond.

“Talking about the various causes of suffering of people from cascading economic shocks, Covid-19, unrelenting climate disasters, war, to geopolitics, unbearable death burdens are crashing the very fabric of our global society. Speaking of the common agenda we drafted in 2015 amongst which only 50 per cent of the SDGs are on target to be met by 2030. There is a huge amount of investment gap that needs to be filled in and this is the forum we need to find solutions to fill in the SDG investment gap.”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in a statement, also urged participants – heads of state, business leaders, sustainable stock exchanges, sovereign wealth funds, and experts – to put the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Stimulus Package into effect and work towards delivering $500 billion annual investment for developing countries.

He also called on governments to establish a fair price on carbon and companies to implement credible net-zero plans, aligning with the recommendations of the high-level expert group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities.

Other highlights of day one at the World Investment Forum

The opening ceremony of the 8th edition of WIF was followed by the ‘Global Leaders Investment Summit 2023’, shedding light on the urgent need to invest in key sectors such as food security, energy transition, health systems, supply chain resilience, and enhancing productive capacity in the world’s most impoverished nations.

Discussions were steered by critical questions concerning the impacts of recent food, fuel, and finance crises on international investment, and the role of international finance and cross-border investment in shaping a more inclusive and resilient global future.

A seminar on the development of sustainability reporting standards in the public sector in partnership with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) discussed best global practices in the field.

The opening day of WIF also saw the Foreign Direct Investment Statistics Conference in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation countries. This provided an opportunity for experts to highlight the importance of raising awareness of the latest standards for collecting data on foreign direct investment activities, including clarifying definitions and methodologies in FDI statistics, and providing insights into OIC-specific challenges such as corporate restructuring, identifying end investors, and different forms of participation.

Day one also saw the hosting of the ‘G8 Economic Cooperation – UNCTAD Guiding Principles for Investment conference, where participants discussed current international investment agreements in the G8 member states. The session focused on how countries can enhance regional dialogue and coordination on comprehensive reform of international investment agreements, including soft policy tools, in particular the Guiding Principles, and learnings from other regions around the world. World Investment Forum