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The second WAIPA Regional Investment Conference, 17-18 November 2006, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
The second WAIPA Regional Investment Conference, organized in collaboration with the General Authority For Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), will be held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on 17 and 18 November 2006. The theme of the conference is: IPA Capacity Building & Investment Promotion Strategy in Africa and the Middle East . This event will be the opportunity for national and sub-national investment promotion agencies (IPAs) from the African region to discuss South-South investment and its implications on the strategic development, the capacity building and the structure of IPAs within the region.
On 17 November, the inauguration ceremony will be addressed by H.E. Ahmed Nazif, Prime Minister of Egypt and H.E. Mahmoud Mohieldin, Minister of Investment, Egypt.
Two sessions, moderated by Mr. Dan O'Brien, Senior Europe Editor/Economist, from The Economist Intelligence Unit, will follow and take the form of interactive debates between the panelists and the audience. Subjects such as Trends & Implications of South-South FDI within and into Africa and the Middle East as well as C ase Studies on South-South Investment & the Role of IPAs will be discussed. On 18 November, the third and the fourth sessions moderated by Mr. John Defterios, Group Vice president FBC, Media Broadcast, will be on IPAs' Effort to Improve their Capacity to Attract FDI & Implications on IPAs' Structure and Strategic Improvement of the Business Environment . Before the closing session, an interactive roundtable on the theme What can be done to benefit more from South-South FDI into Africa? will take place. This conference will provide networking opportunities and facilitate the exchange of best practices in investment promotion.
A welcome dinner on 16 November as well as a Bedouin party on 17 November will kindly be provided by GAFI.
Following the WAIPA Regional Investment Conference 2006, training workshops will be organized on 18 November 2006 in collaboration with WAIPA partners. And on 20-21 November, a workshop on Investor Servicing and Aftercare will take place in Cairo, Egypt.
We warmely invite our members to attend and participate in this second WAIPA Regional Investment Conference!
For further information, please see: www.waipaegypt2006.org or www.waipa.org or contact: Mrs. Béatrice Abel at: isa-beatrice.abel@waipa.org
For hotel reservation, please contact: eva.seddik@gafinet.org
Three workshops to be held in parallel, on 18 November 2006, during the WAIPA Regional Investment Conference 2006
OECD Workshop on Policy Advocacy Function of IPAs Towards Effective Communication of Investment Climate Reforms , 18 November 2006, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
The effectiveness of investment promotion depends only in part on servicing and facilitating potential investors. International experience demonstrates that an important aspect of a country's strategy for attracting investment is a transparent and competitive investment climate. Overregulation, market distortions and other deficiencies in the business environment can neither be overcome by promotion and marketing efforts nor by generous fiscal and financial incentives. Successful investment attraction requires political will and committed champions at the highest levels of government willing to collaborate actively with their IPA and the private sector. Such political will can support the ability of an IPA to act as an independent agent of change and to advocate policy, as opposed to only being a one-stop-shop for investors.
Most countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have established investment promotion agencies or departments, but their competencies in providing this function as an effective policy advocate for investment climate reforms varies. While some countries have an independent IPA, others have investment promotion agencies that are embedded within government agencies and concentrate on image building and investor servicing. Certain IPAs in the MENA region report to the Prime Minister or the Crown Prince, and are therefore able to pioneer reforms more easily than those who do not have a high level reporting relationship.
Since 2004, the MENA-OECD Investment Programme has been working on empowering regional IPAs as pioneers of change within a broader strategy of investment climate reform in the region, which also incorporates tax policy, corporate governance and financial sector development. In 2005, the Programme has carried out a comparative study of the challenges faced by regional IPAs and has developed guidelines for investment promotion. In addition to the regional recommendations, the Programme also continues to carry out country-specific work within the framework of the National Investment Reform process.
A workshop tackling the inter-linkages of investment climate improvements and the policy advocacy function of IPAs, organised by the MENA-OECD Investment back-to-back with the second WAIPA regional investment Conference, will explore how the institutional set up of IPAs in the MENA region could be strengthened to serve the purpose of better policy advocacy. The workshop will leverage the OECD tools and methodologies, and in particular, the recently published Policy Framework for Investment (PFI) , which presents a checklist of issues for consideration by governments engaged in investment climate reform.
For additional information about the MENA-OECD Investment Programme please refer to:
www.oecd.org/mena/investment
MIGA Workshop on MIGA IPA Performance Review 2006: Providing Information to Investors Effectively , 18 November 2006, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
In the first public presentation since its launch, MIGA will present the results of this ambitious global survey of IPA performance. MIGA has assessed the performance of 125 IPAs in terms of their ability to effectively provide investor information through the IPA's website, and through their ability to handle direct investor inquiries. MIGA will present the eye-opening results and lessons, as well as telling in detail what exactly makes the difference between poor, good and best practice performance, and giving specific tips to improve your IPA's effectiveness.
Copies of the publication will be distributed among workshop participants.
Please see: www.waipa.org
UNCTAD workshop on “Promoting Investment through an Enabling Framework: the African and Middle Eastern Perspective”
International investment policies are important tools for developing countries to attract FDI and to foster economic growth. International investment agreements (IIAs) complement national laws on investment and strengthen the enabling framework for FDI. They should therefore be seen as an integral part of a country’s investment promotion strategies. At the same time, the legally binding nature of IIAs can present challenges to developing countries. These can take the form of treaty-based investment disputes between the investor and the host country, overlapping and sometimes incompatible provisions within and among IIAs, and the need to build capacity and increase awareness among IIA negotiators on the key issues at stake. The workshop will review the latest developments in IIAs in Africa and the Middle East, as well as investor-State disputes before addressing the challenges facing African and Middle Eastern countries as a result of the rapid proliferation of IIAs.
Workshop on Investor Servicing and Aftercare, 20-21 November 2006, Cairo, Egypt
The objective of the course is to help investment promotion practitioners to understand the changing global context in which FDI takes place and changing nature of FDI. In particular the shift towards more skill and technology based FDI projects rather than pure cost driven investments and the entrance of new actors that are at the forefront of the recent growth in FDI . In order to attract such investment IPAs need to revise their existing promotion strategies and improve their location competitive advantages.
Secondly, this workshop focuses on an existing ‘reservoir’ of FDI that is often neglected by IPAs: reinvestments by current investors that are already located in your country. This part of the workshop will focus on the following issues: How to approach existing investors and develop a network of good ‘testimonials’? How to keep investors within your country happy and develop successful aftercare programs?
Participants of the workshop will be provided with conceptual frameworks as well as some illustrations of investment promotion strategies and case studies that can be used to design and revise their own strategies. At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to develop investment promotion strategies for attracting new forms of FDI and develop successful aftercare programs.
Please see: www.waipa.org
The WAIPA Study Tour Programme 2006 in Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa, from 20 November to 1 December 2006
WAIPA’s popular study tour programme aims at enabling young professional staff of WAIPA member agencies to visit and learn from experienced IPAs worldwide. The study tours are scheduled for a period of up to two weeks and cover the whole range of IPA activities through hands-on experience and on-the-job training.
Study tours are geared towards young professionals from WAIPA member agencies; the programme is designed to provide participants with the opportunity to gain first-hand experience in investment promotion and investor targeting from successful IPAs. The training is free of charge for WAIPA members.
Applicants must hold a university degree in Business, Economics, Law or a related field, and have a minimum of two years of work experience in investment promotion. Candidates must be fluent in English. After completing the study tour, the trainees are requested to submit a written evaluation report to the WAIPA Secretariat. Upon successful conclusion of their training, the participants receive a certificate of completion. In 2006, investment promotion professionals from IPAs will be trained in South Africa under the leadership of Trade and Investment Kwa Zulu Natal (TIKZN) with involvement of Trade and Investment South-Africa (TISA) and the Durban Investment Promotion Agency (DIPA) in the period from 20 November to 1 December .
For more information, please contact Mrs. Beatrice Abel , at: isa-beatrice.abel@waipa.org or at the following telephone number: +41 22 797 26 63, or see: www.waipa.org
Ad Hoc UNCTAD Expert Meeting on Advocacy in Investment Policies, Geneva, 23-24 November 2006
The Ad Hoc Expert Meeting on Advocacy in Investment Policies, convened in accordance with the decision taken by the Commission on Investment, Technology and Related Financial issues at its tenth session, will be held from 23 to 24 November 2006 (two full days). The Meeting will open at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 23 November 2006.
The Meeting will discuss the issue of policy advocacy on investment issues and will look into efforts that countries are making, through investment promotion agencies, to influence policy change to effectively improve the country investment environment and attract increased levels of FDI in consonance with national economic development goals. The Meeting will identify principles, tools and instruments, and best practices to effectively advocate policy change based on national examples, the experiences gained through UNCTAD programmes and those of other organizations, and the inputs of Meeting participants.
Experts are expected to include officials from government offices responsible for formulation of investment policies and investment promotion, representatives of investment promotion agencies, the business community and civil society. Representatives from other public or private institutions, the academic world and NGOs, with proven expertise in the subject, will also be invited to participate. Experts are nominated by their national Governments but will participate in the Meeting in their personal capacities. Nominations should be submitted to the UNCTAD secretariat no later than 3 November 2006. Specialized agencies and intergovernmental bodies wishing to participate in the Meeting, as well as non-governmental organizations in the general category and those in the special category wishing to participate as observers, are requested to inform the UNCTAD secretariat of the names of their representatives.
Experts are encouraged to submit written contributions on experiences with policy advocacy in investment promotion at the national, subnational, or supranational level. These papers will be made available to other participants in the form and language in which they are received.
The Meeting will take place at the United Nations Office at Geneva, Palais des Nations. Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in the six official languages of the United Nations.
Nominations and related communications concerning representation at the Meeting should be sent to the UNCTAD secretariat, Intergovernmental Affairs and Outreach Service, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10; fax: +41 (0)22 917 214; e-mail: correspondence@unctad.org
Substantive and other enquiries should be addressed to Mrs. Nazha Benabbes Taarji-Aschenbrenner, Coordinator of the Meeting in the Substantive Division (Division on Investment, Technology and Enterprise Development), office E-10041, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10; tel: +41 (0)22 917 57 81 or 917 63 25, fax: +41(0)22 917 01 97, e-mail: nazha.benabbes.taarji@unctad.org
Workshop on Investor Targeting in the Mining Sector and Workshop on Promoting FDI in the Tourism Sector to be held on 4-7 December 2006, in Durban, South Africa
UNCTAD will be conducting, in partnership with WAIPA and the Durban Investment Promotion Agency (DIPA), two regional workshops on Investment Promotion and Investor Targeting, one for the mining and one for the tourism sector. The workshops will be held parallel from 4 to 7 December 2006 in Durban, South Africa. The training will be in English and will target officials from investment promotion agencies (IPAs) in Africa. IPA officials from least developed countries (LDCs) could apply for sponsorships.
The workshops will enhance the understanding of investment promotion in the mining and tourism sectors through presentations by experts, case studies and group exercises. To stimulate the exchange of best practices, participants are expected to prepare brief presentations on their respective countries’ experiences. At the end of the workshops, officials will be asked to develop their own action plan to promote FDI in their respective sectors. The workshops will include sector tailored sessions on investor decision making, marketing your location and prospects, targeting potential investors and developing an action plan.
On the last day of the workshops, two excursions are scheduled in order to illustrate the impact of a successful investment promotion. The mining tour will be to a lime mining operation called Idwala Carbonates www.idwala.co.za which is located in Southern KwaZulu-Natal. Also planned the visit of another open mining operation run by Natal Portland Cement (NPC) www.npc.co.za . NPC mines clinker, which is the main ingredient for cement manufacturing. The pa rticipants in the Tourism workshop will visit a marine theme park, called uShaka Marine World, in Durban www.ushakmarineworld.co.za . This development was designed as a catalyst project to regenerate a decaying part of the city of Durban. The delegates will then go through a Zulu Cultural Experience in the Kingdom of KwaZulu-Natal.
For further information please contact Mrs. Beatrice Abel , at: isa-beatrice.abel@waipa.org , tel.: +41 22 797 26 63.
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