First collaboration between the UfM and UNCTAD on international investment policymaking
- The UfM Secretariat joined hands for the first time with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development to tackle key issues related to international investment policymaking tools and challenges. The online workshop is the first step of a structured engagement with UNCTAD that will see further collaboration between both entities going forward.
- While Investment is critical for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda, the global policy landscape is still largely dominated by old-generation international investment agreements (IIAs) that do not mitigate today’s challenges in areas such as economic stability, environment, and lack sustainable investment facilitation provisions.
20 November 2024 – The Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean together with the UN TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT (UNCTAD) co-organized an online UfM Workshop on Key Issues in International Investment Policymaking on 20 November for UfM Member States Government officials dealing with investment policies including investment promotion.
The workshop shed light on UNCTAD’s work on the reform of the international policy regime, the global and regional trends in International Investment Agreements (IIAs) and investor -State dispute settlement (ISDS), highlighting key challenges with the existing IIA regime, UNCTAD’s investment policy tools developed to assist countries modernizing and reforming their IIAs including the UNCTAD IIA Reform Accelerator.
The workshop also included a presentation on the IIA toolbox developed by UNCTAD for the promotion of sustainable energy investment, responsible business conduct and inclusive investment provisions and investment facilitation in International Investment Agreements (IIAs).
During the Workshop opening remarks, Ms. Nan Li Collins (Senior Director, Investment and Enterprise Division, UNCTAD) stated that most of the investment regimes are entrenched in realities that no longer correspond to today’s challenges and development paradigm. Keen to welcome the UfM in Geneva in February. For his part, UfM Deputy Secretary General Joan Borrell took stock of the current realities in the region and introduced the participants to the modus operandi of the UfM Secretariat.
Ministers in charge of Trade in the joint statement of 11th UfM Trade Ministerial Conference reaffirmed their commitment to support relevant multilateral initiatives towards achieving UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in the same vein welcomed the ongoing work in World Trade Organization (WTO) on new initiatives among which “Investment Facilitation for Development” (IFD) supported to date by over 120 WTO members representing three-quarter of the WTO membership.
