Deputy Director-General Johanna Hill on 22 January opened the webinar on the benefits of the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement, organized by the co-coordinators of the initiative, Ambassador Sofía Boza of Chile and Ambassador Jung Sung Park of the Republic of Korea.
Renowned academics and representatives of leading international organizations who shared their experience and provided insights into the relevance and expected benefits of the IFD Agreement.
DDG Hill emphasized that IFD negotiations have been open to all WTO members wishing to participate and that after more than six years of hard work, the Agreement enjoys support from nearly 120 participating members across all regions.
The majority of IFD participants are developing country members, including 23 least-developed country (LDC) members.DDG Hill noted that unlike other more traditional WTO agreements, the IFD Agreement is not about bargaining over market access concessions. Rather, it focuses on enhancing the transparency and efficiency of investment regulations and procedures, with a view to making economies more efficient and attractive to foreign and national investors.
Highlighting that the text also contains disciplines addressing responsible business conduct and measures against corruption, she stressed that through improved transparency, accountability and governance of investment procedures, the Agreement seeks not only to attract more foreign direct investment flows but also higher-quality investment, she said.
Against a backdrop of many crises where many developing and fiscally constrained economies are grappling with weak growth, high food and energy prices and rising poverty, DDG Hill said many IFD participants view the Agreement as an instrument to anchor and galvanize their economies.
She referred to data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, which indicates that the investment gap in 2023 surged to USD 4 trillion, up from USD 2.5 trillion in 2015, at a moment when the imperative for a transition to a low-carbon economy alone calls for trillions of dollars in green investment. Meanwhile, FDI flows to developing countries experienced a 9% decline in 2023.
