NEW DELHI – From the 11th and 14th of December 2023, UNIDO joined the 27th World Investment Conference organized by the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) in India.

Under the theme “Empowering Investors: IPAs Pioneering Future Growth”, UNIDO’s Managing Director of the Directorate of SDG Innovation and Economic Transformation, Gunther Beger, followed WAIPA’s invitation to speak at the Global Leaders Forum on December 13th. Sharing the stage with other distinguished speakers from the World Bank, the International Economic Development Council and representatives of the private sector, Beger highlighted the global challenges linked to the regional imbalances of investment flows and the impact on the most vulnerable economies. Addressing the forum attendees, he concluded his intervention by presenting UNIDO’s approach to foster more investments in the countries and sectors of the highest relevance to the advancement of the 2030 Agenda, such as through capacity building of Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) for developing more bankable project pipelines. He also made a strong case for more partnerships at global level to address the investment constraints of SMEs in global supply chains, particularly in the context of emerging due diligence regulations in these supply chains.  The World Investment Conference with its global audience also served as the perfect opportunity to launch UNIDO’s flagship report on “Investment promotion and facilitation in the African, Caribbean and Pacific region” showcasing the findings from a first-of-its-kind survey conducted with WAIPA across ACP IPAs.

The report presents the empirical insights of this survey, shedding light on the specific characteristics and challenges of IPAs in the ACP region and offering practical recommendations for enhancing the effectiveness of their work. Beger, who officially launched the report after the Global Leaders Forum, underlined:

“By deepening our understanding of investment promotion in the ACP region, we can collectively foster knowledge exchange and cultivate partnerships that will amplify investments, unlocking economic, social, and environmental benefits for ACP countries.”

Prior to the launch of the report, on December 12th, UNIDO organized a side event that presented UNIDO’s work on investment promotion and facilitation. Attendees were informed about the full range of solutions that UNIDO offers for IPAs and other actors in the investment field to enhance their capacities, such as UNIDO’s Investment Platform, its Computer Model for Feasibility Analysis and Reporting, Industrial Park Guidelines and its broad spectrum of E-learnings, among other topics on Investment Project Preparation and Appraisal, Impact Investing and Industrial Park Development.

On the margins of the conference, Beger had fruitful discussions with Ismail Ersahin, Executive Director of WAIPA, James Zhan, Director, Investment & Enterprise of UNCTAD, Mona Haddad, Global Director for Trade, Investment and Competitiveness, the World Bank as well as Escipión Oliveira Gomez, Director, Division of Enterprise Competitiveness and Institutions, International Trade Centre, to further strengthen collaboration between UNIDO and these organizations. Beger also met with Manish Pande, Director & Head of the Quality Council of India (QCI) to kick-start the formulation of a new project for sustainable supply chains in India’s automotive sector.

For more information please contact Stefan Kratzsch, Team Lead, Sustainability Standards and Responsible Production Unit (IET/PST/SSB).