Please register here if you are interested in attending this webinar. This webinar is part of a webinar series. Upcoming topics and dates will be published soon.

Negotiations on a multilateral framework on investment facilitation for development are beginning in the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 12 March 2020 among 100 WTO members. The main objective of the WTO negotiations is to increase the flow of sustainable foreign direct investment (FDI) with a view toward advancing sustainable development.

This webinar is held in the framework of the ITC/DIE project on Investment Facilitation for Development. It will discuss how the WTO negotiations of such a framework can be used not only to facilitate FDI in general, but also to increase its contribution to sustainable development in host countries. This is particularly important as home countries and international investors, apart from host countries, also play an important role in facilitating sustainable FDI. The webinar will therefore also discuss the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the emerging multilateral framework on investment facilitation for development.

The webinar will be conducted in an interactive manner and allow for questions by participants. After an introduction briefing the webinar participants about the state of play of the investment facilitation negotiations since the first substantive negotiations session in March, key issues will be discussed, including:

• Concrete investment facilitation measures that maximize the impact of FDI for sustainable development.
• The possibility of incentivizing sustainable FDI through the designation of Recognized Sustainable Investors.
• Experiences with domestic laws on CSR.
• Experiences with the inclusion of CSR provisions in international investment agreements.