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Investment Policy Forum

IISD's Investment Policy Forum is the world's only annual gathering of investment negotiators from developing countries and a driving force for global investment reform.

IISD hosts the annual Investment Policy Forum, the world's only yearly assembly of investment negotiators and policy-makers exclusively from developing countries. The IISD Investment Policy Forum leads the way on sustainable investment reform from the bottom up, driven by our global community of investment policy-makers from developing countries.

The 15th edition of the IISD Investment Policy Forum took place in Panama City, Panama, on October 25-27, 2023. The 16th edition of the Investment Policy Forum will be held in Manila, Philippines, on October 16-18, 2024.

The IISD Investment Policy Forum was launched in Singapore in 2007 to tackle the unique challenges facing officials from emerging economies working on investment. It has since evolved into an annual event and an indispensable network of developing country officials working on investment issues.

Through the sharing of experiences and best practices, and the discussion of emerging issues, the network helps to create systemic reform advancing sustainable development in emerging economies across the world.

The core goal of the event is to ensure that participating countries are able to attract responsible investment that advances sustainable development while safeguarding their legitimate policy space. Between events, the community also remains engaged through IISD's Investment Policy Network, regional meetings, and peer-to-peer exchanges.

With the complexity of the challenges facing governments worldwidesuch as the climate crisismany international investment reform processes coming to an end, and a growing number of countries launching national investment reforms, now more than ever, policy-makers need a space to build coalitions and engage in peer-to-peer exchange. The IISD Investment Policy Forum is that space.

2023 Investment Policy Forum

The 15th edition of the Investment Policy Forum took place in Panama City, Panama, in October 2023. Over 100 investment policy-makers and negotiators from more than 50 developing countries, regional bodies, and multilateral institutions participated—in person or virtually—in 3 days of panel discussions, workshops, and peer-to-peer learning sessions.

At the 2023 Investment Policy Forum, the IISD Model Contract Clauses for Responsible Investment in Agriculture toolkit for developing countries was launched. The toolkit provides legal provisions to help developing countries implement international best practices, principles, and guidance on responsible agricultural investment.

Co-Organizers and Partner Organizations

As the Investment Policy Forum organizer, IISD has partnered with international and regional organizations that have been regularly represented at the meetings:

Testimonials

Find out more about the Annual Forum and hear what participants, including Ambassador Xavier Carim of South Africa, have to say about the value of attending.