ASEAN Gathered in ESCAP Headquarter in Bangkok for Regional Investment Promotion Opportunities

In 20-21 March 2024, Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) of ASEAN Member States and Timor Leste as well as the ASEAN Secretariat convened at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP)’s headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand to initiate the work in developing a possible regional investment promotion action plan.

The workshop was the second of a series of capacity-building workshops arranged by UNESCAP, as part of with its ongoing collaboration activities with the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Investment (CCI) focusing on the promotion and attraction of investments. Consultations were conducted both individually and collectively with the ASEAN IPAs involved, initiating the development of a regional approach to investment promotion in the region.  Over the upcoming months, this plan is set to undergo rigorous consultation processes, with an expected launch at the ASEAN Investment Forum scheduled in Lao PDR in October 2024. 

The workshop provided an opportunity to gain valuable insights into the latest FDI trends, underscoring the importance of promoting the region as a unified entity, and exploring various IPA models and approaches to serve this purpose.  The workshop was presented by Andreas Dressler from the FDI Center.  Views and perspectives from the private sector were also a useful part of the workshop, with contributions from Manvinder Bhullar of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Ingo Puhl of South Pole.

The CCI-UNESCAP collaboration started in 2023 with the ASEAN Investment Forum (AIF) on 2 September 2023 in Jakarta, Indonesia, followed by an ASEAN IPA workshop from 7-9 November 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand. The next session for capacity development and concluding the consultation for the advancing ASEAN FDI Action Plan is scheduled for 20-21 June 2024.