29/10/2001 - After years of growth, world-wide levels of foreign direct investment (FDI) are expected to have fallen considerably in 2001. Amid a world-wide economic slowdown, many governments need to attract further foreign investment in order to promote sustainable development and poverty reduction. How to achieve this will be one of the main themes for discussion at the inaugural meeting of the OECD Global Forum on International Investment.
Hosted by the Government of Mexico, the forum will take place at Hotel Camino Real (Av. Mariano Escobedo 700 11590, México D.F., tel: (52) 52 63 88 89 - fax: (52) 52 63 88 88) in Mexico City on 26-27 November 2001. Its aim will be to come up with policy messages relevant to all countries, developed and developing alike, for ways of maximising the benefits of FDI for development.
Mexico's Minister of the Economy, Luis Ernesto Derbez, will open the Forum. Participants will include senior officials from OECD and non-OECD countries in charge of investment policy and promotion and of development issues, as well as representatives of multilateral organisations, business, labour and civil society.
The entire proceedings will be open to the media. A news conference will be held at 10.00 a.m. on 26 November at Hotel Camino Real and a media briefing on conference conclusions is scheduled for 27 November at 5.45 p.m.
The OECD Global Forum on International Investment is one of eight "Global Forums" being launched by the OECD's Centre for Co-operation with Non-Members. Their objective is to deepen and extend relations with non-OECD countries in fields where the OECD has particular expertise and where global dialogue is important. The Global Forum on International Investment will foster open and inclusive dialogue on emerging investment issues among stakeholders and investment policy makers around the world.
The World Bank Group, IMF, UNIDO, UNECE, APEC, Inter-American Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, EBRD, and European Commission are among the multilateral/regional organisations invited to the inaugural meeting. Special sessions and panels will address ways of broadening government policies beyond traditional approaches; capacity building to reap the full benefits of inward direct investment; and ways for multinational enterprises to contribute effectively to economic development.
Mexico is the second largest FDI recipient in Latin America and the third among all developing countries, with average annual FDI inflows of $12 billion since 1994. During the first semester of 2001, Mexico received $6.7 billion dollars in FDI.
For further information, journalists are invited to contact Mehmet Ögütçü, Principal Administrator, OECD Global Forum on International Investment and Non-Members (tel. 33 1 45 24 93 95) or Gabriela Ramos, Head of the OECD Mexico Centre (tel. 52 52 80 03 30 or 52 52 81 38 10).
On the Mexican side, the media contact person is Alan Nahum Kain, Director-General of Media Relations at the Mexican Economy Ministry (tel. 52 57 29 91 00 ext. 1200, 1201 or 1202). Updated documentation will be regularly posted at the OECD website ( http://www.oecd.org/daf/investment) and at Mexico's website ( http://www.economia-snci.gob.mx).