From: Walter Ukaegbu, Abuja
Participants at the high level trade and investment facilitation forum for development in Abuja yesterday endorsed the United Nations projection that developing countries would need an additional $2.5 trillion investment annually to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
In a statement after the event which was declared opened by Vice President and Chairman of the Nigerian economic management Team, Professor Yemi Osibanjo, and WTO Director – General Roberto Azevedo, among others, the forum endorsed the proposition that high levels of domestic security and stability would be achieved with higher levels of welfare, prosperity and job creation.
The high level event noted that expanding this required investment and global networks, know- how and technologies that accompany it which require complementary policies institution and best practices, domestically and regional / international cooperation.
They underscored the urgent necessity to creating a favourable business climate and implementing sound market – driven domestic policies .
Furthermore, the forum highlighted the importance of advancing regional and international co-operation to create a more transparent, efficient and predictable environment for investment and trade as well as to ensure that their benefits are widely shared.
According to them, one of the central objectives of the forum was to examine how WTO could contribute to facilitating required investment as well as trade by developing multilateral approaches to improving transparency, cutting red tape, streaming procedures and strengthening international co-operation and pro- development investment. Participants underscored the importance of enabling developing and developing countries to increase their participation in global investment flows, including mobilising the resources needed to address their technical and capacity constraints.
They urged WTO members to undertake more focused discussion aimed at developing a multilateral framework to facilitate investment for development.