Vietnam actively joins eighth World Investment Forum

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong attends a WIF event (Photo: ESCAP)

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) convened the eighth World Investment Forum (WIF) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) from October 16-20, focusing its discussions on investment challenges faced by developing nations amid the ongoing crisis.

A Vietnamese delegation led by Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong attended and delivered speeches at the Enterprise Ministerial Roundtable, a symposium on financing the just energy transition partnerships: perspectives from Vietnam, Indonesia and South Africa, a high-level roundtable on investment in the energy transition, and a symposium on Industry 4.0 and the future of global investment.

They also had a booth at the Investment Village in the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

Following the WIF opening was the Forum and Global Leaders’ Investment Summit, with a focus on the urgent need to invest in critical areas such as food security, energy transition, health care system, supply chain resilience, and enhancing production capacity in the world's poorest countries. Discussions were centred on reviewing the impact of recent food, fuel and financial crises on international investments, as well as the role of international finance and cross-border investments in shaping a more comprehensive and self-reliant global future.

Themed “Investing in Sustainable Development”, the WIF also encompassed discussions on the upcoming global climate change negotiations at the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP28).

The WIF 2023 ended with a strong call to key investors to play a pivotal role in reshaping the global economy and seize new opportunities arising from the transformation of energy, agriculture, and health care sectors to provide innovative solutions for sustainable development.

The forum also announced a set of new investment policy tools, including the identification of 50 model Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) economic zones, the launch of a multilateral forum on reform of international investment agreements and collaboration with UN World Tourism Organisation to establish guiding principles for sustainable tourism investments. Several new partnership agreements and technical support projects were also unveiled./.