World Investment for Development Alliance launches at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting

The World Investment for Development Alliance (WIDA) is a global platform that aims to bring together stakeholders to identify and address investment challenges and opportunities to foster sustainable development. It focuses on facilitating coordination and cooperation between leading actors and initiatives working on investment for development.

The alliance was first publicly discussed in October 2021 at the seventh World Investment Forum. It officially launched on May 23, 2022, during the “Driving Development with Investment Alliances” affiliated session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, hosted by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA).

IISD is one of the founding members of WIDA and will contribute actively to its mission to develop a coherent vision for international investment. Other founding members include the Academy of International Business, African Union, International Trade Centre, OECD, UNCTAD, UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, WAIPA, World Bank, and World Economic Forum.

There is currently no well-established mechanism for coordinating global reform efforts on investment policy. WIDA will address this gap by providing a global platform for more effective coordination, as well as by identifying and developing solutions to issues that are not currently being addressed. It will facilitate mutually beneficial partnerships that leverage the expertise, networks, capabilities, experience, and resources of participating organizations to achieve greater impact.