14/03/08

Welcome to 2 new members !

We are pleased to announce that the Secretariat of Promotion of Investments, Exports and International Cooperation of Province based in Buenos Aires, Argentina and the Office Suisse d’Expansion Commerciale OSEC, based in Zürich, Switzerland have become new members of WAIPA. The Association covers 154 countries worldwide with 222 agencies.

http://www.waipa.org

WAIPA World Investment Conference 2008, 18 – 21 April, Accra, Ghana

The WAIPA WIC 2008 will be part of the World Investment Forum (April 19-21), sponsored by UNCTAD and WAIPA. The World Investment Forum will be held on the occasion of the UNCTAD XII Conference. Starting on April 18, the WAIPA General Assembly and the election of a new Steering Committee for the period 2008-2010, will take place in the afternoon followed by the Gala Dinner and the WAIPA Award Ceremony. The forum will provide an unprecedented opportunity for senior policy-makers, corporate executives, investors and investment promotion agencies to meet and interact through a series of conference, networking and social events.

Investment-led globalization continues apace—with both foreign direct investment (FDI) and trade flows reaching new all-times highs. As this process brings ever more change, there has never been a greater need to understand its salient features, implications and prospects. The World Investment Forum will explore future developments in FDI flows: where they will come from; where they will go; which sectors and industries will account for these flows, and what the new features of the corporate strategies that are driving the process will be. Particular emphasis will be placed on the new opportunities and challenges for investors, how global value chains and business linkages are evolving and how emerging economies can accelerate the development process through FDI.

Participants will include: Government and business leaders from both developed and developing countries; senior representatives from chambers of commerce and business councils; heads of inward and outward investment promotion agencies (IPAs) from 192 countries; and key global and African media. The Forum will be followed by UNCTAD XII (April 20-25). The theme of UNCTAD XII is “Addressing the Opportunities and Challenges of Globalization for Development”.

2008 WAIPA Awards for IPA Policy Advocacy

WAIPA members are invited to nominate themselves for this year's WAIPA Awards. They will be awarded in collaboration with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) at the 2008 Annual WAIPA Conference and World Investment Forum held this year in Accra, Ghana, from 18 to 21 April 2008. The focus of this year's awards will be policy advocacy.

OECD Global Forum on International Investment VII: Best practices in promoting investment for development, 27-28 March 2008, OECD Conference Centre, Paris, France

The OECD Global Forum on International Investment (GFI) is the annual meeting of a global network of policy makers, investment promotion agencies, academics, business leaders, labour representatives, and members of civil society dealing with the policy challenges of international investment. The theme of this year’s conference is “Best practices in promoting investment for development”. The meeting will take place on 27-28 march 2008 at the new OECD Conference Centre in Paris France.
General information on the Global Forum on International Investment, including the preliminary programme, can be obtained on the OECD website at: http://www.oecd.org/investment/GFI-7. Any inquiries concerning the Global Forum on International Investment should be directed to the GFII programme manager, Dr. Michael Gestrin at: Michael.gestrin@oecd.org

Vienna Economic Forum – Montenegro Meeting: “Invest in Montenegro – Invest in the Region”, 14-15 April 2008, Becici, Montenegro

The Vienna Economic Forum - Montenegro Meeting “Invest in Montenegro - Invest in the Region” will be held on 14 - 15 April 2008 in Becici, Montenegro, under the patronage of H.E. Mr. Milo ĐUKANOVIĆ, the Prime Minister of Republic of Montenegro.
The meeting of Vienna Economic Forum in Montenegro will concentrate on three main topics: Infrastructure Projects; Investment Policy and Investment Opportunities in Montenegro; Investment Experiences and Investment Needs in Montenegro.
Various Ministers, Montenegro decision makers, as well as representatives of Austrian and Montenegro companies and companies from other countries of the Region will take part in the Forum.
                    
There is no participation fee for this event. Please note that the delegates are responsible for the arrangement and payment of their own travel and accommodation.

In order to download the programme and the application form, please visit http://www.vienna-economic-forum.com/events.html 

ANIMA call for ideas: 25 operational projects for the Mediterranean!

ANIMA Investment Network launches with the DIPLOMATIE magazine, a call for ideas about '25 operational projects for the Mediterranean'. Any submissions from your part or from your country, as well as testimonies to Euromed ministers, CEOs or personalities are welcome before 30 April 2008.

ANIMA and DIPLOMATIE magazine join forces to launch at Spring 2008 a call to all Mediterranean or non-Mediterranean people to imagine THEIR project FOR the Mediterranean basin. The principle is straight forward: Each person or each team interested may submit one or several projects ; Regional integration must be the objective and each project must have a transversal application (concern at least several countries, from the north and the south of the Mediterranean) and have a significant economic impact on the sustainable development of the region ; Each project will be described in a short document (1,500 words maximum, A4 portrait format) and must be convincing (selling points, illustrations), in French or in English.

ANIMA and DIPLOMATIE commit themselves into translating and publishing in June 2008 a selection of the 25 best operational projects in a special issue of Enjeux Méditerranée that will be widely promoted and distributed (via usual press means and on the occasion of the numerous Euro-Mediterranean conferences to be held in the second half of 2008);
A few personalities or teams will also be invited to add their point of view – but ANIMA’s and DIPLOMATIE’s objective is really to raise the voice of those (at grassroots level, and not necessarily in the board rooms), and particularly on the southern rim of the basin, who imagine or carry operational projects of collective interest and hope to accelerate their implementation.

Various projects may be proposed, as long as they are “novel” (though some good ideas are already circulating or being implemented!) and concern:
The population in general, and the civil society, its living conditions and empowerment – transport, housing, health, medias, environment, etc. Some targets to be encouraged (non exhaustive list): youth, women, researchers, entrepreneurs – networks and shared resources, exchanges, financing & improvement of projects, mobility, business development etc. The nature of projects may vary, but must be attractive, while being operational -a true challenge!

For any questions, suggestions and electronic file under Word format, please contact: tina.hom@anima.coop by 30 April 2008 at the latest.