Global Forum on International Investment: Encouraging Modern Governance and Transparency for Investment - Why and How

17-18 November 2003, Johannesburg, South Africa

The GFII conference was held in conjunction with two events which took place concurrently on 19 November 2003:

How can modern, transparent governance help countries to attract and benefit from foreign investment? This was the central theme at a conference which the OECD and South Africa jointly organised in Johannesburg from 17-18 November 2003.

Entitled "Encouraging Modern Governance and Transparency for Investment: Why and How", the conference was the third annual meeting of the OECD Global Forum on International Investment (GFII). The GFII is an open forum for policy dialogue among OECD members, non-members and other stakeholders world-wide. It provides them with a platform for exchanging their expertise and experience in meeting the challenges and opportunities created by international investment.

The GFII conference was divided into three sessions. The first session explored the case for good public governance for attracting investment and maximizing its benefits to host societies. Country case studies and OECD and other research will underpinned the debate.

The second session delved into one aspect of good governance: transparency. Transparent policy and rule making is a key condition of effective investors’ decisions and a well functioning economy. The discussion focused on what achieving transparency means in an investment policy context, learning from different experiences around the world.

The concluding session explored avenues for building capacities for policy transparency through the joint efforts of host countries, OECD countries and the international business community.
Participants at the GFII included key investment officials from OECD member and non-OECD governments; representatives from international organizations operating in the region (such as the World Bank, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the regional development banks, and the European Commission) and non-governmental organisations. There were also members of important business groups, in particular the Business Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, the World Business Council on Sustainable Development, the International Chamber of Commerce, and members of the private sector.

Conference documentation