The video recording of UNCTAD's High-Level IIA Conference 2021 is available here.

UNCTAD’s High-Level IIA Conference 2021 took place on 19 October 2021 during the 7th World Investment Forum.

A diverse group of high-level IIA policymakers and investment stakeholders participated in the two sessions of the IIA Conference. Mr. James Zhan, Director of Investment and Enterprise, UNCTAD, delivered the opening statement.

IIA reform remains a daunting task for all member States, with challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Annual IIA Conference offers a platform for accelerating IIA Reform and taking concrete steps towards a more coherent and consolidated process for modernizing old-generation IIAs.

More information on this and other events is available at the World Investment Forum website.

Opening (START VIDEO)

• Mr. James Zhan, Director, Investment and Enterprise, UNCTAD

Panel I: Taking stock of the reform of the IIA regime (START VIDEO)

Moderator: Ms. Samira Sulejmanovic, Head, Department for Bilateral Trade Relations, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Panellists:

• Ms. Emily Mburu-Ndoria, Director, Directorate of Trade in Services, Investment, Intellectual Property Rights and Digital Trade, African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat
• Mr. Urban Rusnák, Secretary-General, Energy Charter Secretariat
• Mr. Carlo Pettinato, Head of Investment Policy Unit, European Commission
• Ms. Meg Kinnear, Secretary-General, International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
• Ms. Ana Novik, Head of the Investment Division, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
• Ms. Anna Joubin-Bret, Secretary, United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)
• Mr. Moritz Lumma, Head of Division, Foreign Investment, Paris Club, Development Banks, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Germany
• Ms. Cindy Rayo Zapata, Director General of International Trade in Services and Investment, Ministry of Economy, Mexico
• Ms. Caroline Kollau, Director, Trade Policy and Economic Governance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands
• Ms. Fareena Mazhar, Secretary, Board of Investment, Pakistan
• Ms. Kekeletso Mashigo, Director, Legal: International Trade, Investment, Dispute Settlement, Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, South Africa
• Mr. Felix Imhof, Deputy Head, International Investment and Multinational Enterprises Division, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Switzerland

Panel II: Way forward – accelerating IIA reform (START VIDEO)

Moderator: Ms. Patience Okala, Director, Legal Services, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, Nigeria

Panellists:

• Mr. Winand Quaedvlieg, Chair, Committee on Investment and Responsible Business Conduct, Business at OECD (BIAC)
• Ms. Chantal Ononaiwu, Trade Policy and Legal Specialist, Office of Trade Negotiations, CARICOM Secretariat
• Ms. Lisa Sachs, Director, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI)
• Ms. Suzy H. Nikièma, Sustainable Investment Lead, Economic Law and Policy Program, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
• Mr. Jansen Calamita, Head of Investment Law and Policy, Centre for International Law, and Research Associate Professor (CIL), Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore
• Mr. Surya Deva, Chair, UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights, and Professor, Macquarie Law School, Sydney
• Mr. Shaun Donnelly, Senior Advisor, United States Council for International Business (USCIB)
• Mr. Makane Moïse Mbengue, Professor of International Law and Director of the Department of International Law, University of Geneva

Closing (START VIDEO)

• Mr. Hamed El Kady, Senior Investment Policy Officer, International Investment Agreements Section, UNCTAD