Webinar: Investment Facilitation – Making sense of concepts, discussions and processes

How can investment be leveraged for sustainable development and how do discussions on investment facilitation fit into the sustainable development agenda (or not)?

Over the past few years, the topic of investment facilitation has made its way to the forefront of discussions on international investment law. In 2014, Brazil proposed a new type of investment treaty model, moving away from a model focused on investor protection and dispute settlement to one focused on investment cooperation and facilitation. The trend was set, and in 2016 the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) published an action menu on investment facilitation, building on previous work. Other organizations, such as the Organisation for economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), have also showcased their work in this area. More recently, certain members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have advanced the idea of multilateral discussions on investment facilitation.  

The second session of the IISD Webinar Series on Investment Law and Policy, on July 10, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. ET / 3:00 p.m. CEST, offered government officials and other stakeholders an opportunity to discuss the relevance, opportunities and risks of investment facilitation discussions, especially for developing countries. 

Three expert presenters provided an overview of how the notion of investment facilitation developed at the bilateral level and in various international forums. They discussed what investment facilitation means or could mean and how it relates to sustainable development. Webinar participants had the opportunity to ask questions, provide insight and share strategic and other considerations. 

Expert presenters

• Joe Zhang – Law Advisor, Economic Law and Policy, IISD
• Michelle Ratton Sanchez Badin – Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Centre on Global Law, Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) São Paulo School of Law, Brazil
• Lauge Poulsen – Senior Lecturer in International Political Economy and Director of Graduate Studies in Political Science, University College London (UCL)

Please contact investmentlaw@iisd.org for more questions.