Page 394 - MOE ENGLISH PR REPORT - FEBRUARY 2024

2/28/24, 10:22 AM UAE: Three-quarters of WTO members mark finalisation of IFD agreement
dedication and vision of more than 120 members. "This agreement is proof of the power of
collaboration and compromise and the shared vision of an open and rule-based trade," he

said.

Participating members took the floor to stress that the IFD Agreement incorporated in the
WTO would create clear and consistent global benchmarks for investment facilitation,

reducing regulatory uncertainty and making it easier for investors to invest. It would

anchor their domestic reforms in shared international commitments, thereby sending a
strong signal to investors that a host economy is committed to reforming its investment

climate. The Agreement explicitly excludes market access, investment protection and
investor-state dispute settlement.

The IFD participants also underlined that, once incorporated in the WTO, the IFD

Agreement will allow developing and least-developed country (LDC) members to receive
the technical assistance and capacity-building support they need to implement it.

Participants are proposing to add the Agreement to Annex 4 of the Marrakesh Agreement
Establishing the WTO. While the IFD Agreement would be plurilateral (binding only on

those members that accept it), it is open for all WTO members to join. Participants

stressed that incorporation of the IFD Agreement into the WTO is critical for the Agreement
to deliver its benefits, notably for developing and LDC members, who are in the greatest

need of more sustainable investment flows. An IFD Agreement in the WTO will also serve

as a key catalyst for international support for national and regional investment facilitation
efforts.

Article X.9 of the WTO Agreement provides that, upon the request of the member parties

to the plurilateral agreement, the Ministerial Conference may decide exclusively by
consensus to add the agreement to Annex 4. Participants emphasised that they look

forward to discussing their request with all WTO members in an open, inclusive and
transparent manner during MC13 with a view to achieving their common aspiration of

incorporating the IFD Agreement into the WTO as soon as possible.

Held in an open, transparent and inclusive manner, the IFD text-based negotiations were
launched in September 2020, building on over three years of preparatory work since a

group of 70 WTO members called in December 2017 at MC11 in Buenos Aires for starting

https://www.zawya.com/en/economy/global/uae-three-quarters-of-wto-members-mark-finalisation-of-ifd-agreement-jygd702m 3/4