How diplomats can contribute to investment facilitation for the SDGs

Investment facilitation is the set of policies and actions aimed at making it easier for investors to establish and expand their investments, as well as to conduct their day-to-day business in host countries While facilitating investment is crucial for sustainable development and inclusive growth, national (and international) investment policies have paid little attention to it to date, compared with investment promotion. UNCTAD has developed a Global Action Menu for Investment Facilitation (UNCTAD, 2017), which proposes measures to support investment facilitation (box 11). It incorporates measures considered of key importance by IPAs and by the business community and builds on UNCTAD’s 2014 SDG Investment Action Plan and UNCTAD’s IPFSD. There is a role to play for diplomats in the implementation of these measures, particularly with respect to the provision of clear information to investors on the investment regime (action 1), contributing to build constructive stakeholder relationships in investment policy practice - notably by strengthening the role of foreign embassies and missions in investment facilitation (action 4), maintaining dialogue with investment stakeholders abroad including company headquarters, the diaspora community and development partners, among others and in establishing collaboration between IPAs and OIAs (actions 7, 8 and 10). For the purposes of this handbook, the investment facilitation phase is divided into (a) facilitation of SDG investments, (b) aftercare services, and (c) pursuing stakeholder feedback and policy advocacy.