São Paulo – The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) will host its 2018 World Investment Forum from October 22 to 26 at Palais des Nations, the UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. UNCTAD said this Tuesday (9) that over 5,000 delegates from 160 countries are expected to attend. They will discuss major investment-for-development initiatives, under the theme Investing in Sustainable Development.
“Global flows of foreign direct investment fell by 23% in 2017. Cross-border investment in developed and transition economies dropped sharply, while growth was near zero in developing economies,” a UNCTAD press release quoted UN secretary general António Guterres as saying.
“With only a very modest recovery predicted for 2018, this negative trend is a long-term concern for policymakers worldwide, especially for developing countries,” Guterres went on.
According to the UNCTAD, private investments to the tune of USD 3.9 trillion a year in developing nations are required in order for the UN Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved by 2030. Current levels leave a USD 2.5 trillion investment gap.
Discussions on attracting and channeling investment will involve more than 30 top executives from multinationals, 14 heads of state and government, 50 ministers from developing and developed countries and 21 heads from international organizations.
Corporate players will include Coca-Cola, Lavazza, PwC, Siemens Financial Services, UBS and Nasdaq, alongside government officials from countries in Europe, Africa and Asia and delegates from the International Labor Organization (ILO), the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Economic Forum, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Bank.
The biennially-held forum will see its sixth edition.
Find out more here.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
