UNCTAD Unveils Donor-funded Technical Assistance Programmes for Nigeria, Angola, Others

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja 

Nigeria, Angola, The Gambia, Suriname, Vanuatu, Zimbabwe and the wider African, Caribbean and Pacific group of countries are to benefit from a new donor-funded technical assistance programme — a partnership between Europe, the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

This is one of the two new donor-funded technical assistance programmes

introduced at the 8th UNCTAD World Investment Forum 2023, which ended in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Friday.

The partnership will provide essential support through digital government tools such as information portals and single windows, streamlining administrative procedures for investors and fostering inclusive development. 

The project, set to run between October 2023 and September 2025, reflects a commitment to advancing investment facilitation and contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The UNCTAD Investment Forum 2023 unveiled a suite of new investment policy instruments, including the identification of 50 SDG model special economic zones, the launch of a multi-stakeholder platform on international investment agreements reform, and a collaboration with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation to establish guiding principles for sustainable tourism investment.

The forum saw the announcement of several strategic partnerships, including collaborations with the African Sovereign Investors Forum, regional partnerships for sustainability reporting in Asia, the Gulf region and Eurasia, and an agreement between the stock exchanges of Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand to launch a central sustainability platform for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region.

To kickstart the investment, the forum introduced two new donor-funded technical assistance programmes. 

First is a funding partnership with the German International Climate Initiative and GIZ, the German development agency, to support sustainability reporting and climate disclosure in developing countries.

Second is a €2.8 million partnership between Europe, the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States and UNCTAD, aimed at bolstering the capacity for investment facilitation in Angola, Gambia, Nigeria, Suriname, Vanuatu, Zimbabwe and the wider African, Caribbean and Pacific group of countries.

The forum noted that the world needs increased investment flows to drive economic transformation in energy, infrastructure, agrifood and health sectors to ensure sustainable development.

UNCTAD’s 8th World Investment Forum came to a close with a powerful call to public and private investors to play a pivotal role in reshaping the world economy, and seize the emerging opportunities offered by the energy transition, transformation of the agrifood and health sectors and the changing solutions for sustainable development.

The week-long event saw the convergence of 8,000 participants, including government officials, international organisations, policymakers, 700 CEOs and investors, sovereign wealth funds, sustainable stock exchanges and key capital markets actors.

Held against the backdrop of a politically fragmented global economy, the forum addressed the profound impact on trade and investment, with foreign direct investment experiencing a continued downturn as data from the first half of 2023 highlighted.