High-level International Investment Agreements (IIA) Conference 2018

Mobilizing investment and channelling it towards the SDGs require adequate policy frameworks, at both the international and national levels, and in the investment and other policy fields. Countries have been working on reforming their international investment treaty networks. But there is also a need to consider national investment laws reform and ensure that investment policies are coherent with and supportive of other public policies. These challenges are taken up in Phase 3 of IIA Reform. Based on UNCTAD’s Reform Package for the International Investment Regime (2017), the 2018 IIA Conference will take stock of Phases 1 and 2 of IIA Reform and chart the way forward for the third phase of reform.

Issues for the debate

• What progress has been made on different reform areas and the modernization of old-generation treaties?
• What are countries’ priorities for the third phase of reform?
• What can be done to improve overall investment policy coherence?

Databases

• UNCTAD IIA Navigator
• UNCTAD ISDS Navigator
• UNCTAD IIA Mapping Project

Past High-level IIA conferences

• 9-11 October 2017 – UNCTAD Annual High-level IIA Conference on Phase 2 of IIA Reform
• 19 July 2016 – UNCTAD World Investment Forum, High-level IIA Conference
• 16 March 2016 – UNCTAD Expert Meeting on Taking stock of IIA Reform
• 25-27 February 2015 – UNCTAD Expert Meeting on the Transformation of the IIA Regime
• 16 October 2014 – UNCTAD World Investment Forum, High-level Conference on Reforming the IIA Regime

IIA-related Break-out Sessions

Tuesday, 23 October 2018

• ESCAP and ITD: IIA Reform and sustainable development: sharing Asia-Pacific experiences, 08:30-10:00, Room: XXV (25).
• UNECA: Promoting transformative investment in Africa through regional integration, 12:30-14:30, Room: XXVI (26).
• South Centre: Reforms and alternatives for the future of the international investment treaty regime: views for the way forward, 12:30-14:30, Room: XXII (22).

Wednesday, 24 October 2018

• ICSID: Designing the next generation of the ICSID rules, 08:30-10:00, Room: XXVI (26).
• CCSI: Rethinking international investment governance: principles for the 21st century, 09:00-10:00, Room: XXV (25).
• FES, ICJ and IISD: Investment for sustainable development: incorporating investor obligations in trade and investments agreements, 13:00-14:30, Room: XXVI (26).

Thursday, 25 October 2018

• Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nyenrode Business University and Utrecht University: Towards realization of the SDGs on the national level: challenges posed by international investment law, 08:30-10:00, Room: XXVI (26).
• FES, ICJ and IISD: The future of investment-related dispute settlement: options and models, 13:00-14:30, Room: XXVII (27).

Friday, 26 October 2018

• OHCHR and Heinrich Böll Foundation: The right and duty to regulate in the context of mega-infrastructure investment, 08:30-10:00, Room: XXV (25).
• CUTS International: Improving policy coherence to attract export oriented FDI for sustainable development: taking forward phase 3 of IIA reform, 08:00-09:30, Room: XXVI (26).

The break-out sessions are organized under the sole responsibility of the above-mentioned organizers. The UNCTAD secretariat is not responsible for the content of the discussions or for the material provided during the break-out sessions.