"The World and Japan" Database (Project Leader: TANAKA Akihiko)
Database of Japanese Politics and International Relations
National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS); Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia (IASA), The University of Tokyo

[Title] JOINT STATEMENT ON INVESTMENT FACILITATION FOR DEVELOPMENT

[Place]
[Date] December 10, 2021
[Source] Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
[Notes]
[Full text]

JOINT STATEMENT ON INVESTMENT FACILITATION FOR DEVELOPMENT

The following communication, dated 10 December 2021, is being circulated at the request of the delegations of Afghanistan; Albania; Antigua and Barbuda; Argentina; Australia; Bahrain, Kingdom of; Barbados; Benin; Brazil; Burundi; Cabo Verde; Cambodia; Canada; Central African Republic; Chad; Chile; China; Colombia; Congo; Costa Rica; Djibouti; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; El Salvador; European Union; Gabon; The Gambia; Georgia; Grenada; Guatemala; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Honduras; Hong Kong, China; Iceland; Indonesia; Japan; Kazakhstan; Korea, Republic of; Kuwait, the State of; Kyrgyz Republic; Lao People’s Democratic Republic; Liberia; Macao, China; Malaysia; Maldives; Mauritania; Mauritius; Mexico; Moldova, Republic of; Mongolia; Montenegro; Morocco; Myanmar; New Zealand; Nicaragua; Nigeria; North Macedonia; Norway; Panama; Papua New Guinea; Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; Qatar; Russian Federation; Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Singapore; Solomon Islands; Suriname; Switzerland; Tajikistan; Togo; Turkey; Uganda; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom; Uruguay; Vanuatu; Yemen; Zambia; and Zimbabwe.


The following Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO):

Afghanistan; Albania; Antigua and Barbuda; Argentina; Australia; Bahrain, Kingdom of; Barbados; Benin; Brazil; Burundi; Cabo Verde; Cambodia; Canada; Central African Republic; Chad; Chile; China; Colombia; Congo; Costa Rica; Djibouti; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; El Salvador; European Union; Gabon; The Gambia; Georgia; Grenada; Guatemala; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Honduras; Hong Kong, China; Iceland; Indonesia; Japan; Kazakhstan; Korea, Republic of; Kuwait, the State of; Kyrgyz Republic; Lao People’s Democratic Republic; Liberia; Macao, China; Malaysia; Maldives; Mauritania; Mauritius; Mexico; Moldova, Republic of; Mongolia; Montenegro; Morocco; Myanmar; New Zealand; Nicaragua; Nigeria; North Macedonia; Norway; Panama; Papua New Guinea; Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; Qatar; Russian Federation; Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Singapore; Solomon Islands; Suriname; Switzerland; Tajikistan; Togo; Turkey; Uganda; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom; Uruguay; Vanuatu; Yemen; Zambia; and Zimbabwe,

hereby issue the following statement:

1. Recognizing the crucial importance of international investment and trade as twin engines of economic growth, sustainable development and global resilience, especially in the context of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

2. Recalling and building on the Joint Ministerial Statements adopted in Buenos Aires in 2017 and Shanghai in 2019, we reaffirm our shared objective to facilitate foreign direct investment and, for this purpose, to conclude a multilateral Agreement on investment facilitation for development that will help WTO Members attract, expand and retain foreign direct investment flows and to achieve sustainable development goals.

3. Reaffirming that facilitating greater developing and least-developed Members' participation in global investment flows constitutes a core objective of the Agreement, we recognize the importance to support developing and least-developed Members in implementing the Agreement by addressing their identified needs through special and differential treatment, including technical assistance and capacity building.

4. Commending the substantial progress made in the negotiations on investment facilitation for development since their formal launch in September 2020, we welcome the Consolidated Document by the Coordinator – Easter Text (Revision 5) as contained in WTO document INF/IFD/RD/74/Rev.5, which reflects considerable convergence and identifies areas that need further discussion.*1*

5. We are of the view that this document has made significant and tangible progress including by developing the key elements identified in the preceding Joint Statements – such as improving the transparency of investment measures, streamlining and speeding-up administrative procedures, and enhancing international cooperation, information sharing, and the exchange of best practices. The discussions also address means of encouraging sustainable investment. The negotiations exclude market access, investment protection, and Investor-State Dispute Settlement, and clarify the relationship between the future Agreement and Members' investment commitments. Accordingly, we consider the Consolidated Document by the Coordinator – Easter Text (Revision 5) as the basis for our ongoing negotiations, aiming to conclude the text negotiations by the end of 2022.

6. We reaffirm our determination to continue and further intensify our outreach efforts and encourage all WTO Members to join this Joint Statement and participate in these Member-driven, open, transparent, and inclusive negotiations.


{*1* The 'plain text' that is not in square brackets in the Easter Text (Revision 5) does not indicate agreement to, or conclusion of, the text.}