Monday, 25 June 2007: Attracting FDI through International Investment Agreements
Location: Room XXVII, Building E, 1st floor
Foreign investment is one of the key drivers of the process of globalization. Transnational corporations are engines of growth, undertaking two-thirds of global trade and over 80 per cent of international R&D.
One way in which countries worldwide seek to attract FDI is through the conclusion of international investment agreements (IIAs).
Among the major challenges in negotiating such treaties are the questions of how to properly balance the granting of protection rights to foreign investors and public concerns related to FDI, and how to ensure consistency between IIAs concluded by a country.
Against this background, the course will first provide an overview of recent trends in worldwide FDI flows and in national policies to FDI. Special attention will be given to the role of developing countries. Thereafter, the latest developments in international investment rulemaking will be presented. In this context, the main features of IIAs will be analysed, along with systemic issues resulting from the growing patchwork of bilateral, sectoral, regional and plurilateral investment treaties. In conclusion, the course will try to distill some lessons to be learnt from past experience for the future development of IIAs.
Delivered by: Division on Investment, Technology and Enterprise Development