THE INVESTMENT, TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT NEXUS IN THE POST-COVID-19 ERA

in partnership with the World Trade Organization (WTO)
Event
Session Type
Conference
Room number
WIF Virtual Platform, room 8
Contact Email
Joerg.Weber@unctad.org
Claudia.Locatelli@wto.org
22 October 2021
09:00 - 11:00 Europe/Zurich
Europe/Zurich

The pandemic has exacerbated the pressures on global value chains (GVCs) that have emanated from the long-term structural transformation trends arising from changes in the political, technological, and sustainability spheres.   The resultant reconfiguration of GVCs for recovery and resilience will have profound implications for the interrelationship between trade and investment, and their development impact. This high-level event, organized in cooperation with the WTO, will consider this ongoing trend, and identify policy solutions for national and international action to help developing economies address the challenges and reap the benefits of the evolving GVC landscape.

Issues for the debate

  • What are the most promising trade and investment strategies for developing economies to cope with the ongoing reconfiguration of GVCs in the post-COVID-19 era for their sustainable recovery and resilience-building?
  • How can such strategies be translated into national and international policies?
  • What are the trade and investment policy gaps that need to be urgently filled, nationally, regionally, and at the multilateral level?
  • What is the role of international organizations such as UNCTAD and WTO to assist developing economies with these issues?

Presentation of preliminary findings from the World Trade Report 2021: Economic Resilience and Trade

  • Mr. Marc Bacchetta, Chief of Section, Economic Research and Statistics Division, World Trade Organisation (WTO)

Presentation on the World Investment Report 2021: Investing in Sustainable Recovery

  • Mr. Richard Bolwijn, Head, Investment Trends and Issues Branch, Division on Investment and Enterprise, UNCTAD

Speaker(s)

Deputy Director-General, World Trade Organisation
Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
Chief of Section, Economic Research and Statistics Division, World Trade Organisation
Head, Investment Research Branch, UNCTAD
Minister-Counsellor, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the WTO
Head of Investment Policy Unit, European Commission
Senior Specialist for Trade, Permanent Delegation of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States in Geneva
Head of Corporate Affairs and Head of Sustainability, Reckitt
Professor of Economics, Deputy Department Head, University College London

Moderator(s)

Head, International Trade and Investment and Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum