Investment, Enterprise and Development Commission, seventh session

The Commission provides the opportunity for member States and investment and development stakeholders to discuss key and emerging issues in the area of investment and enterprise and their implications for sustainable development, as well as policy solutions.

This year's session will address three main themes:

1. Mobilizing investment for development: Contribution of UNCTAD in the context of financing for development.

2. Entrepreneurship and sustainable development goals.

3. Policies to promote collaboration in science, technology and innovation (STI) for development.

A high-level panel has been convened on the first day of the Commission to discuss financing trends, options available to developing countries, partnerships and innovative financing mechanisms for mobilizing investment for development and maximizing its positive impact.

Under the same agenda item, policymakers, investment promotion agencies and private sector representatives will be given the opportunity to exchange concrete experiences and views during the second day of the Commission devoted to the presentation, at the ministerial level, of the Investment Policy Reviews of the Republic of the Congo and the Sudan.

Under the agenda item on entrepreneurship and sustainable development goals, the Commission is invited to examine how to promote enterprise development in support of sustainable development objectives.

Under the agenda item on policies to promote collaboration in STI for development, the Commission will discuss policies to strengthen networking activities and linkages among STI stakeholders in the public sector, the business community and academia.

Many developing countries have insufficient scientific and technological experience and capabilities and policy support will therefore be instrumental in initiating, growing and bringing sustainability to networking activities and interactions, such as innovation clusters and innovation hubs, STI parks and business incubators. Such instruments have been used to promote technological development in a wide variety of contexts and using various models and approaches.

The Commission is invited to share experiences in developing and implementing policies to foster collaboration among STI stakeholders in the context of developing countries. The focus of the discussion is expected to be on presenting various approaches, with an emphasis on science and technology parks.

The Commission will also consider the reports and discuss the outcomes and recommendations of its Multi-year Expert Meeting on Investment, Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Productive Capacity-building and Sustainable Development, of the Expert Meeting on the Transformation of the International Investment Regime: The Path Ahead and of the Expert Meeting on Cyberlaws and Regulations for Enhancing E-commerce, Including Case Studies and Lessons Learned.

It will also consider the report of the thirty-first session of the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting.

In addition, the Commission will examine progress made in the implementation of the mandates received in Accra and Doha by the secretariat, identifying areas in which synergies have been achieved among the three pillars of its work.