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AIM Digital 2020 to Catalyse Global Foreign Direct Investments Flows

• Major activities under the FDI pillar to extensively boost investment opportunities in various sectors.

• Dubai FDI, AIM Digital’s Official Investment Promotion Partner, and Hamdan Centre for the Future of Investment (HCFI) programs, its official Impact FDI partner, to provide insights on the global trends and shifts shaping the future of FDI opportunities.

• Pre-conference Workshops to be held in partnership with World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies WAIPA, Leading Cities, International Council for Small Business (ICSB), Start-up Genome, Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, and SAP.iO

AIM Digital, the first digital edition of the Annual Investment Meeting, an initiative of the UAE Ministry of Economy, will provide investment opportunities and innovative strategies that will counter the decline of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) flows worldwide and will further catalyse the recovery and transformation of the global economy.

This year’s edition of the Annual Investment Meeting held from the 20^th – 22^nd of October, with the theme “Reimagining Economies: The Move Towards a Digital, Sustainable and Resilient Future” will make major efforts to strengthen the investment environment through the key activities under the FDI Pillar.

“Over the years, the UAE has undertaken several innovative and technologically driven initiatives to transform the economy towards an upward direction. The country has continued to do so and has positioned itself as an attractive destination for investments through smart solutions and the development of several projects that add value to investors and the economy in general.

AIM recognises the UAE’s continued success and will serve as in instrument to further establish future economic developments through a virtual platform during these unprecedented times,” stated Mr. Dawood Al Shezawi, the Head of the Organising Committee of the Annual Investment Meeting.

At present, the current global FDI outlook as presented by UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2020, estimated a decline in FDI’s by up to 40% this year from $1.54 trillion in 2019. These figures have drastically affected the current and future value of global chains and investment activities in several countries.

Nonetheless, the UAE continues to show its strong economic performance. The Euromonitor International’s Resilience Index has ranked the UAE as the third most resilient economy in 2020. It also ranked as the 9^th most competitive economy in the world according to the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2020. In addition, the country ranked 19^th on the Kearney Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index this year which shows that UAE continues to gain strong investor confidence despite the challenges.

There are several activities in AIM Digital that are designed to extensively boost investment opportunities in various sectors.

The Pre-Conference Workshops will be led by leaders and specialists from the investment community to explore relevant topics about each of the six pillars of AIM — Foreign Direct Investment, Foreign Portfolio Investment, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Startups, Future Cities, and One Belt, One Road.

In partnership with the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), the FDI Workshop will discuss “Investment Promotion in a New Era and a Push for Investing in SDGs” which aims to look at what the changing investment landscape and impact on global value chain implies for policy reorientation, as well as the opportunities to build a more resilient framework. It will analyse what this means for building a more sustainable future and why the current situation might be a push towards increased investment in SDGs and existing best practices by IPAs.

In collaboration with Leading Cities, the Future Cities Workshop entitled “De-Risking Smart Cities” will help to understand how cities can become more resilient and address the basic, current, and future needs of their city. It will seek to mitigate risks related to meeting the basic need of clean water and current need of cybersecurity to providing our future need for advanced 21st century infrastructure.

The SME Workshop, “Establish and Embody the Practice of MSMEs Humane Entrepreneurship for SDGs,” made possible in partnership with the International Council for Small Business (ICSB), will explore how governments, firms, and organisations can establish and embody the practice of Humane Entrepreneurship as the key to long-term care of individuals and wealth creation.

The Start-up Workshop, in partnership with Start-up Genome, will discuss “Quantifying the State of the Global Startup Ecosystem and Key Ways Startup Ecosystems Are Accelerating Their Growth” which gives an overview of the global startup ecosystem, key trends and future findings.

Sovereign wealth funds and other public funds have been impacted one way or another by COVID-19. While larger SWFs strategically made plays to increase exposure to some asset classes, others have faced untimely withdrawals from governments. The FPI Workshop, in cooperation with Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, will discuss “How Sovereign Wealth Funds and Other Public Funds Are Adapting During COVID-19.”

The Start-up Workshop will discuss “B2B SaaS Sales & GTM,” in partnership with SAP.iO, to explore the strategies to setup an enterprise sales strategy in a startup, how to build trust in the digital world, the sales process phases and best practices, and how to move beyond a PoC.

The AIM Digital 2020 Conference, led by more than 300 speakers, including the heads of state, key policymakers, institutional and non-institutional investors, heads of international institutions, will share their in-depth insights, best practices, and valuable strategies in order to address the decline in global FDI.  Some of the most notable dignitaries to grace the occasion are H.E. Juri Ratas, the Prime Minister of Republic of Estonia; H.E. Rustam Minnikhanov, the President of Republic of Tatarstan; H.E. Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary General of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); and H.E. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Under-Secretary-General of United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP.

Several ministers from different countries across the globe will also take part in the Conference such as H.E. Amir Peretz, the Minister of the Economy of Israel; H.E. Dr. Francis Kai Kai, Minister of Development and Economic Planning of Republic of Sierra Leone; H.E. Gabriel Curtis, Minister of Investments and Public Private Partnerships of Republic of Guinea; H.E. Ivan Ontaneda, Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries of Republic of Ecuador; H.E. Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs of Indonesia; H.E. Omar Paganini, the Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining, Oriental Republic of Uruguay;  H.E. Ramon Martinez, the Minister of Commerce and Industries, Republic of Panama; H.E. Roberto Antonio Malouf Morales, the Minister of Economy of Republic of Guatemala; H.E. Sérgio De Sousa Santos, the Minister of Economy and Planning of Republic of Angola; H.E. Urmas Reinsalu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of  Republic of Estonia; H.E. Victor Fedeli, the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade of Canada; and H.E. Victoria Hernández Mora, the Minister of Economy, Industry and Commerce, of the Republic of Costa Rica.

The first digital edition of the Annual Investment Meeting has received huge support from reputable local and international organisations, its esteemed partners and sponsors, namely: UAE International Investors Council, Saud Bahwan Group, Etisalat, National Program for Small and Medium Enterprises and Projects, Sustainable City, Saeed Sharjah Investors Service Centre, Invest in Sharjah, and ECOWAS Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), Etihad Credit Insurance, Hamdan Centre for the Future of Investment (HCFI), Dubai FDI, African Reinsurance Corporation, Internet Society of China – ISC, China Internet Partner, Dubai Land Department, Audi-Al Naboodah, Aramex, and its virtual venue, Events10X.

“We are glad to further strengthen Dubai FDI strategic partnership with the Annual Investment Meeting mission as official Investment Promotion Partner and expand our support to AIM Digital 2020 agenda as the official Impact FDI partner, through Hamdan Centre for the Future of Investment (HCFI) programs,” said Fahad AlGergawi, the President of World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) and the Chief Executive Officer of Dubai FDI.

“We look forward to share HCFI insights on the session titled, “A Decade of Impact FDI”, which provides strategic context to the global trends and shifts shaping the future of FDI opportunities,” mentioned AlGergawi.

“It’s our pleasure to engage with distinguished speakers and participants at AIM Digital 2020 to showcase Dubai’s Advantage and explore future cooperation opportunities enhance capacity building and meet investors’ expectations,” he added.

The Digital Country Presentations which will showcase countries such as UAE, Colombia, Egypt, Estonia and Ethiopia, will serve as a platform to promote investment opportunities to prospective investors and unveil the best investment destinations by featuring the key economic and investment environment features of every participating country.

The Investors Hub is an excellent platform for investors to highlight their most promising investment ventures. Representatives of top investment houses, investment corporations, development banks, sovereign wealth funds and portfolio investors virtually meet with official government envoys in a formal and secured digital setting in order to establish investment partnerships and collaboration.

The Investment Roundtables will focus on Energy, Agriculture, Infrastructure, Hospitality, and Tourism and will gather Ministers, Vice Ministers, Heads of IPAs, traditional and non-traditional investors and key stakeholders to share investment frameworks and approaches to facilitate sustainable, smart and scalable investments. Key topics of discussion include investment plans, infrastructure development, financing strategies, and implementation steps; financing and funding models, including enhanced partnerships, collaboration, or investment platforms; risk identification, allocation, and management; the mobilisation of data for infrastructure investment; and sustainability.

In Conglomerate Presentations, large multi-industry groups will have the opportunity to present their investment roadmap and key sectors of interest to an impressive roster of AIM investment promotion agencies, businesses, and government officials who are keen in making sustainable investment in their respective countries. Several B2B, G2B, & G2G high-level meetings will also be facilitated in order to establish strong collaborations between and among businesses and the government sector.

AIM Digital will also grant recognition to the best Investment Promotion Agencies across the globe through the AIM Investment Awards, giving tribute to the best FDI projects in each region of the world that have significantly contributed to the growth and expansion of their markets.

“I trust that AIM Digital will provide the most numerous opportunities to enhance foreign direct investments globally. This largest virtual gathering of the global investment community to date will pave the way for many countries to highlight their strengths to ultimately help in growing their respective economies,” said Mr. Al Shezawi.

 

 

About the Annual Investment Meeting

The Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) is an initiative of the UAE Ministry of Economy, held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai. AIM is the world’s leading investment platform with over 16,000 participants, over 400 exhibitors and co-exhibitors, 60+ high-level dignitaries, 150+ investment specialists and experts in 2019.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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