New IBM-Plant Location International Workshop: "Strategic Marketing and Image Building for IPAs",
7- 8 March 2005, Geneva - Switzerland, Palais des Nations

The first World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) workshop in 2005—Strategic Marketing and Image Building for IPAs, will take place from 7 to 8 March 2005 in Geneva, Switzerland. The workshop is being sponsored by IBM-Plant Location International (Belgium), and will be hosted by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), at Palais des Nations, the seat of the United Nations' European office. The workshop will last two full days and feature international best practice sessions on Investor Location Decision Making, Designing and Implementing an Effective Marketing Strategy, Image Building, and Investor Development or After Care Services, among others. To reinforce the presented material, the workshop will utilize interactive exercises and case studies, focusing in particular on China and more generally on Asia. For more information on this workshop, please contact Mr. Marko Stanovic at Tel. +41 22 907 4888; e-mail: marko.stanovic@unctad.org

An UNCTAD Workshop: "Exchange of Best Practices in IPA Policy Advocacy",
Thursday 10 March 2005, Geneva - Switzerland, Palais des Nations

This UNCTAD workshop on the Exchange of Best Practices in IPA Policy Advocacy will be held on 10 March 2005 (14:00-18:00). Policy advocacy is increasingly becoming an important function of many IPAs, as investors increasingly expect IPAs, given their positioning vis-a-vis both the private sector and the government, to take a lead role in improving the investment environment in the host country. This four-hour workshop consists of a number of interactive exercises and case studies designed to highlight strategies undertaken by IPAs in policy advocacy.
For more information on this workshop, please contact Mr. Kiyoshi Adachi at Tel. +41 22 907 1413; e-mail: kiyoshi.adachi@unctad.org

Special WAIPA Workshop: "e-Government Tools for Investment Promotion",
Thursday 10 March, Geneva - Switzerland, Palais des Nations

The objective of this workshop is to give an overview of best practices in online services offered by IPAs, to present the Investment Gateway, a turn-key e-government system IPAs can implement as part of their website to present online information on investment opportunities and investment regulations; and to present the Investment Compass, an on-line tool to assess the business environment in their country. The workshop will last 1 hour. Presentations will be made in French (2.00pm), Spanish (3.15pm) and English (4.30pm). On request, individual consultations can be organised for IPAs who wish to review their website with UNCTAD's staff, with a view to developing a strategy to improve their online services. Representatives of donor countries will be invited to the meeting.
Please register or request additional information online (www.waipa.org/e-tools).

Buck Consultants International Workshop: "Strategies to Attract and Retain Foreign Investment Projects",
10 March 2005, Geneva - Switzerland, Palais des Nations

The attraction of new foreign investment projects meets many challenges, as competition around the globe is increasing and the nature of investment projects changes all the time. To develop marketing strategies and strategies to attract foreign investment projects requires a thorough understanding of how companies take location decisions, understanding your proposition to them and how companies will compare your country or region within the trade off between various operational cost items and the quality of your business environment. Another important issue is to retain foreign investment projects in your country or region and benefit from future expansions of these investors. The training session will explain how companies make location decisions and how they compare regions and countries. This will be illustrated by case studies of recent site selection projects carried out by Buck Consultants International. Moreover, the training session will show best practices in investor development and what kind of programs are used to retain foreign companies. A case study will illustrate the importance of investor development and the best way to deal with new and expansion projects from existing client base.
For more information on the workshop, please contact Ms. Karine Campanelli at Tel. +41 22 907 4643; e-mail: karine.campanelli@unctad.org

These workshops are offered free-of-charge to WAIPA members in good standing. Interested participants should register for the WAIPA World Investment Conference. The number of participants is limited for each workshop; so interested WAIPA members are encouraged to apply as soon as possible in order to guarantee their seat at the workshop (first-come, first-served basis). Registration forms including new workshops are available on www.waipa.org.
For registration, please contact Mrs. Isa-Beatrice Abel at WAIPA Secretariat, Palais des Nations, Room E 10083, 1210 Geneva Switzerland, Tel.: +41 22 907 17 30, Fax: +41 22 907 01 97, e-mail: Isa-Beatrice.Abel@unctad.org

Welcome to New Investment Promotion Agencies from Guyana and United Kingdom!

We are pleased to announce that the Linden Economic Advancement Programme - LEAP from Guyana and the Turks and Caicos Islands Investment Agency - TCInvest from United Kingdom have become new members of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies. The Association covers 145 countries worldwide with 175 agencies.

Publications

ANIMA Study: Direct Foreign Investment (FDI) in the MEDA region in 2004 (NOTES & STUDIES N°15 /JANUARY 2005)

The MEDA region has in recent years received 3 to 4 times less foreign direct investment (FDI) than other emerging regions of the world with equal economic fundamentals. Knowing the needs of this region for job creation, capital injection, and prosperity, this situation is of concern.
In order to monitor the progress achieved in the context of the ANIMA project, a Mediterranean Investment Project Observatory has been developed. The first results for 2004 suggest a sharp recovery, with 400 major investment projects announced in the region - compared to 275 in 2003. These projects involve an injection of capital of more than 20 billion Euros. These investments come from international " blue chip " companies. In relative terms, MEDA also welcomes two times more ITC projects than Eastern Europe (CEEC). Morocco and Turkey are leading the MEDA league in terms of projects, but a strong turnaround may be observed in other countries such as Algeria or Egypt.

The information from this report, also available on the Web, reinforces the ANIMA network in its strategy of recovery for the MEDA region - this strategy consists in helping countries to recover their whole attractiveness. The stakes are considerable, due to the divide in living standards and development.

http://www.animaweb.org/Documents/Et15_MIPO-2004_VF.pdf