More than
Two-thirds of WTO Membership now Part of Investment Facilitation Negotiations
The announcement by eight WTO members of their decision
to join the negotiations for an Agreement on Investment Facilitation for Development
brings the number of participants to over 110. The decision by Albania, Georgia,
the Maldives, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Uganda and Zimbabwe
was revealed on 30 November at a Heads of Delegations’ meeting on this joint initiative
chaired by Rodrigo Yáńez, Chile’s Vice-minister of Trade.
Participants took stock of progress in the negotiations and committed to the objective
of finalizing an agreement by the end of 2022.
Vice-minister
Yáńez welcomed the new participants: "More than two-thirds
of the WTO membership are now participating in these negotiations – a remarkable
achievement. This reflects that, from the outset, this initiative has always been
open to all and pro-multilateral."
The Chilean
Vice-minister exchanged views with members on the significant progress achieved
in developing a pro-multilateral Agreement on Investment Facilitation for Development
(IFD) and on how to move forward following the decision to postpone the
12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) amid new coronavirus variant concerns. Chile
has steered the negotiations since their launch in September
2020,
with Ambassador Mathias Francke in the role of coordinator.
The meeting
was also the opportunity for members to consider an alternative "landing plan"
for the proposed draft joint Ministerial Statement on Investment Facilitation for
Development, which was going to be presented to ministers at MC12 in early December.
Many participating members supported a proposal by China to work on an adjusted
version of the Joint Statement that could be adopted at the level of ambassadors
in Geneva in order to maintain the momentum that the joint initiative has achieved
in the run-up to MC12, to highlight the progress achieved so far in the negotiations,
and to provide further impetus to outreach efforts.
The draft
Ministerial Statement included a target date to conclude text negotiations by the
end of 2022 and reaffirmed the determination to further intensify outreach efforts
towards other WTO members. The text also reiterated the importance of developing
and least developed country (LDC) members' participation in global investment flows
and the need for technical assistance and capacity building to help them implement
the future IFD Agreement.
Vice-minister
Yáńez underlined the importance of keeping up the positive
momentum as well as the results-oriented and cooperative spirit in which these negotiations
have been conducted. The so-called Easter Text is "the
recognized foundation for the negotiations and the increased number of participants
provides a major boost to the negotiations. Thus, end-2022 is an achievable target
date for the conclusion of the text negotiations," he stressed.
Although
the text is not final - “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed” – Vice-minister
Yáńez noted that substantive progress had been made in
key sections of the negotiating document, including notably the sections on "Transparency
of Investment Measures" and "Streamlining and Speeding-up Administrative
Procedures". Also, important provisions on special and differential treatment,
including technical assistance and capacity-building support for developing and
least developed countries, were well advanced.
Participants
thanked Chile for its effort in coordinating this initiative and its ambition in
aiming at achieving an agreement that eventually could be endorsed by the whole
WTO membership.
Members
shared the common view that a future IFD Agreement would create clear and consistent
global benchmarks for investment facilitation, reducing regulatory uncertainty and
making it easier for investors to invest. It would anchor domestic reforms in shared
international commitments, sending a positive signal to investors. Also, it would
allow developing and least-developed country members to receive the technical assistance
and capacity-building support they need to implement and benefit from the future
agreement, participants said.
Looking
forward, a schedule of meetings for the first semester of 2022 has been agreed,
as reflected in document INF/IFD/W/41. Eight two-day negotiating meetings
will be held between January and July 2022, the first one scheduled for 26-27 January
2022.
Over
110 WTO members participate in the Joint Initiative on Investment Facilitation for
Development, namely:
Afghanistan;
Albania; Argentina; Australia; Austria; Bahrain, Kingdom of; Barbados; Belgium;
Benin; Brazil; Bulgaria; Burundi; Cabo Verde; Cambodia; Canada; Central African
Republic; Chad; Chile; China; Colombia; Congo; Costa Rica; Croatia; Cyprus; Czech
Republic; Denmark; Djibouti; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; El Salvador;
Estonia; European Union; Finland; France; Gabon; Gambia; Georgia; Germany; Greece;
Grenada; Guatemala; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Honduras; Hong Kong, China; Hungary;
Iceland; Indonesia; Ireland; Italy; Japan; Kazakhstan; Korea, Republic of; Kuwait,
the State of; Kyrgyz Republic; Lao People’s Democratic Republic; Latvia; Liberia;
Lithuania; Luxembourg; Macao, China; Malaysia; Maldives; Malta; Mauritania; Mauritius;
Mexico; Moldova, Republic of; Mongolia; Montenegro; Morocco; Myanmar; Netherlands;
New Zealand; Nicaragua; Nigeria; North Macedonia; Norway; Pakistan; Panama; Papua
New Guinea; Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Portugal; Qatar; Romania; Russian
Federation; Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Singapore; Slovak
Republic; Slovenia; Solomon Islands; Spain; Suriname; Sweden; Switzerland; Separate
Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu; Tajikistan; Togo; Turkey;
Uganda; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom; Uruguay; Vanuatu; Yemen; Zambia; Zimbabwe;
Participation
in this Joint Initiative is open to all WTO members.