The global investment landscape is being reshaped by intersecting challenges, including climate change, technological transformation, geopolitical tensions and supply chain reconfiguration. Foreign direct investment is becoming increasingly concentrated in fewer sectors and countries. Investment decisions increasingly depend on the availability of skills, technology and innovation capabilities, infrastructure and the strength of local productive capacities. See the UNCTAD World Investment Report 2026 – International Investment in a Turbulent Era for more details.
Mobilizing productive investment and strengthening the domestic private sector are ever more critical to achieving national development objectives, and in the new global investment landscape, developing countries need to strengthen the foundations that make them attractive and competitive investment destinations. Development cooperation can play a critical role in this regard, not only through financing but also by supporting policy reforms, institution-building, investment facilitation and promotion as well as private sector development.
Against this backdrop, the Ministerial Roundtable on Investment will bring together ministers from developed and developing countries responsible for investment, private sector development and development cooperation. The Roundtable will provide a platform to exchange experiences, propose policy solutions, highlight investment barriers and opportunities, and strengthen partnerships to mobilize investment for sustainable development. It will also explore how international cooperation can be strengthened and how international organizations, including UNCTAD, can support these efforts.
Guiding Questions:
- Positioning for the future of investment. How are governments responding to heightened geopolitical uncertainty and a changing global economic environment to capture investment opportunities, including those arising from the reconfiguration of global supply chains
- From competition to investment partnerships. How are governments engaging at the regional and international levels to strengthen partnerships, deepen economic cooperation and improve market access? What risk-sharing mechanisms can the public sector provide to attract sustainable investment from the private sector?
- Making international support more effective. What policy advice, technical assistance, and partnerships do countries need from UNCTAD, and how can development partnerships support their delivery?
Expected Outcomes:
- Identification of priorities for stronger regional partnerships to improve market access, deepen economic integration, address investment constraints, and foster sustainable investment.
- Recommendations to strengthen UNCTAD's role and capacity to support countries in advancing sustainable investment, including policy advice, technical assistance, knowledge-sharing, and the convening of partnerships.
Format:
The session will take the form of a ministerial roundtable, bringing together ministers from developed and developing countries to share experiences and policy priorities through brief interventions of up to three minutes. Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in all six official UN languages. As this is an invitation-only session, there will be no spontaneous interventions from the floor.
Each minister may be accompanied by up to two delegates in the meeting room. Lunch will be served.