The WAIPA Steering Committee met on 4 November 2004 in Geneva - Switzerland. The following members were present, namely: Mr. Kai Hammerich, WAIPA President, Director General of Invest in Sweden Agency, Sweden, Mr. Ludovic Ognagna, WAIPA Vice-President, Directeur Général, Agence de Promotion des Investissements Privés, Ministère du Commerce et du Développement Industriel, Gabon, Ms. Ming Zhou, WAIPA Vice-President, Deputy Director General, Investment Promotion Agency of Ministry of Commerce, The People's Republic of China, Mr. Kwasi Abeasi, Dr. Ziad Bahaa - El Din, Mr. Martin Berlin, Ms. Patricia Francis, Mr. Emmanuel Hess, Mr. Carl Pilgrim, Mr. Alessio Ponz de Leon, Ms. Ximena Zavala. Mr. Kai Hammerich opened the meeting and briefed participants on his visits to WAIPA partners in Washington DC - U.S.A, and in Europe in October 2004, and identified several areas for possible actions to strengthen the role of WAIPA. A draft Business Plan was prepared by a consultant and presented for review by Steering Committee members. A final version of the Business Plan will be sent to WAIPA members at the beginning of next year. Other issues were discussed, such as the merits of establishing a small cabinet consisting of some Steering Committee members. It was agreed that the President would further consult on this matter and report to the Steering Committee. Also, the question of the establishment of new types of members to widen WAIPA membership by including other potential partners especially from the private sector was discussed, as well as the possible implications for the WAIPA statutes. Finally, it was reported that the next Annual WAIPA Conference will be held back-to-back with the annual session of the UNCTAD Commission on Investment, Technology and Related Financial Issues to be held in March 2005 in Geneva - Switzerland. The overall theme of the Tenth Annual Conference should be on the services sector, and that various sessions could focus on related issues such as IT led services, Financial services, Telecommunications, etc. It was mentioned that further consultations with WAIPA members should take place in order to strike a balance between sector specific issues and broad topics that are of interest to WAIPA members.

For more information, please contact Karine Campanelli at tel.: +41 22 907 46 43, e-mail : karine.campanelli@unctad.org

The Investment Forum on The Fundamentals of Investment 2004 : "Investment : a territorial commitment"
Rabat - Morocco, 1-2 December

The second event of a five year conference series on "The Fundamentals of Investment", is scheduled to take place on the 1st and 2nd of December 2004 in Rabat - Morocco, and will follow up on concerted plan of action, launched at the first event held in December last year. Looking at an international, regional and national perspective, this meeting will provide a platform for exchange between the numerous representatives from the world of politics, academics and business who will meet to discuss: "Investment : a territorial commitment". The Department of Investments of Morocco has initiated this event.
What place is there for the region in a global economy? What type of governance is required for sustainable regional development? Countrywide development, a strategic tool for the region as an entity? How best to promote a region? Experts of international renown, as well as regionally dynamic actors will study various aspects of these issues.
For more information, please see : http://www.lesintegrales.com

MIGA's FDI Promotion Center : A guide for new users

The FDI Promotion Center, developed by the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), is a knowledge and learning web site specifically designed for investment promotion practitioners. It is designed to accommodate all levels of practitioners - from novice to very experienced - and a broad range of interest areas. This resource builds upon the Investment Promotion Toolkit and contains a reference library, best practices, investor research sources, case studies, templates and other hands-on resources for the daily work of investment promoters. Its content also helps policy makers seeking to better understand the benefits of FDI and the institutional requirements for successful promotional efforts. All these sources are free of charge.

For more information, please see : http://www.fdicenter.com

Sales of Topics for Workshops by Members

As at the end of every year, WAIPA planes its workshop schedule for the following year. The topics of the workshops are selected in a concerted manner with feed-back from WAIPA members to reflect their real needs. A survey has been sent to all WAIPA members and we are looking forward to receiving your proposals. Also, WAIPA members who are interested in hosting such workshops during the year 2005 are kindly requested to indicate this to the WAIPA secretariat, at tel.: +41 22 907 17 30 or +41 22 907 46 43.

PUBLICATIONS

"Attracting Foreign Direct Investment Into Infrastructure" by FIAS
This study presents recommendations on how best to establish a policy framework attractive to foreign investors. The Foreign Investment Advisory Services (FIAS) of the World Bank Group typically combines its review of the institutional, legal and regulatory environment with a combination of investor roundtables and workshops for senior government to ensure that all major concerns of both the government and the private sector are taken into account. Although each country has unique policy problems, FIAS has encountered common features in key areas that pose stumbling blocks for private infrastructure investments. This study synthesizes this experience and derives lessons for facilitating and encouraging foreign direct investment in infrastructure.

For more information, please see :
http://www.fias.net/OccPapers/FDIinInfraDifficult.pdf

Ernst & Young European Investment Monitor : 2004 - The First Six Months
The number of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects into Europe increased 27 percent in the first half of 2004, compared with the same period in 2003, according to the latest European Investment Monitor from Ernst & Young. Central and Eastern European countries performed exceptionally well over this period with Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Russia increasing their aggregate share of all projects from 14 percent in the first half 2003 to 20 percent in first half of 2004.

For more information, please see : http://www.ey.com/global/download.nsf/International/European_Investment_Monitor

OECD "International Investment Perspectives: Trends and Recent Developments in Foreign Direct Investment " - 2004 Edition
After already declining dramatically in the previous two years, foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into OECD countries continued to slip in 2003. Direct investment into North America was particularly hard hit, whereas flows from OECD countries toward developing and emerging economies held up well. The first article in this year’s International Investment Perspectives provides an analysis on FDI trends.

For more information, please see : http://www.oecd.org/document/8/0,2340,en_2649_34863_33702536_1_1_1_1,00.html

"India's Outward FDI: A Giant Awakening?" by UNCTAD
Indian firms have been investing abroad for many years. But it is only since the late-1990s that outward foreign direct investment (FDI) flows have risen rapidly, albeit from low levels. India's outward FDI stock has grown from $0.6 billion in 1996 to $5.1 billion in 2003, taking the country to 14th place in terms of outward FDI stock among developing economies. Its annual average outward FDI flows during 2001-2003 reached $1.1 billion, which were comparable to those of Malaysia and almost double those of Greece. This research note published by UNCTAD examines the ascendancy of India as a source of FDI to the world.

For more information, please see :
http://www.unctad.org/sections/dite_dir/docs//diteiiab20041_en.pdf

"Most-Favoured-Nation Treatment in International Investment Law" by OECD
This study aims at enhancing the understanding of investment protection provisions in international investment agreements. It provides a factual survey of jurisprudence and related literature on Most-Favoured-Nation treaty clauses in investment agreements (OECD, October 2004).

For more information, please see : http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/21/37/33773085.pdf