At the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference(MC14), the 129 WTO members participating in the initiative requested requested ministers to consider adding the IFDA to the WTO legal framework (Annex 4 of the WTO Agreement) as a plurilateral agreement (with a most-favoured-nation provision) open to all WTO members. Under Article X:9 of the WTO Agreement, such a decision would require the consensus of WTO members. However, consensus could not be reached, with one member (India) expressing reservations. Earlier, on the opening day of the conference, Türkiye announced that it no longer opposed the integration of the IFDA.

Since MC13, 11 requests from the proponents to secure IFDA incorporation into Annex 4 have not achieved the required consensus support at the General Council.

The IFDA is the result of more than six years of open and inclusive member-driven discussions and negotiations. The Agreement does not alter members' substantive investment policies, and it explicitly excludes market access, investment protection, and investor-state dispute settlement. Instead, it focuses on improving the way investment-related measures are administered, simplifying and streamlining administrative processes, and promoting predictability and efficiency in investment regulatory frameworks.

The aim of the IFDA is to help establish consistent global benchmarks for investment facilitation, thereby reducing regulatory uncertainty, making it easier for investors to invest, which participating members consider could contribute to improving the predictability and efficiency of investment-related administrative procedures. This can play an important role in facilitating FDI, which is a key driver of increased production and export capacities, better-paid jobs, and the development of essential infrastructure (including digital).

In 2023, FDI in the median emerging market and developing economy amounted to just over 2 per cent of GDP – less than half of its peak of around 5 per cent in 2008, according to the World Bank.⁽¹⁾. In 2025, flows to lower-income economies fell by 5 per cent,⁽²⁾, while investment in sectors critical to sustainable development dropped by more than 30 per cent in 2024.⁽³⁾ The IFDA also promotes global principles on responsible business conduct, with the aim of fostering sustainable investment as well as linkages between foreign investors and domestic suppliers of goods and services, including micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

Development is the central pillar of the IFDA as described by participating members. The Agreement includes special and differential treatment (S&DT) provisions that allow developing and LDC members which are parties to the Agreement to self-determine the pace of implementation as well as their technical-assistance and capacity-building needs, based on their individual capacity to implement. To reach such determinations, a needs assessment process is available to assist interested developing and least-developed country members, upon request, in determining the time required to implement each IFDA provision and whether targeted technical assistance and support for capacity building would be needed.

There are currently 27 IFDA needs assessment projects underway, benefiting from the support of donors and partner organizations, such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the International Trade Centre (ITC), United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Bank.

At MC14, several members (including China and the United Kingdom) as well as partner financial institutions (such as the European Investment Bank) announced new support for the IFD Agreement needs assessments and related implementation efforts.

According to a 2024 study by Yeutter Institute, University of Nebraska, increases in global welfare from a multilateral IFDA could range between 0.63 per cent and 1.73 per cent, depending on the extent of implementation.

Article X:9 of the WTO Agreement provides that, upon the request of the members parties to a plurilateral agreement, the Ministerial Conference may decide "exclusively by consensus" to add a plurilateral agreement to Annex 4. Accordingly, the members parties to the IFDA requested that the IFDA be added to Annex 4 of the WTO Agreement, pursuant to Article X:9, at the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13), in subsequent meetings of the WTO General Council and at MC14. Being a plurilateral agreement, the IFDA does not create obligations nor rights to non-IFDA members parties.

The 129 members participating in the IFDA issued a joint ministerial declaration at the end of MC14, indicating that they will explore practical pathways for the effective implementation of the IFDA while continuing to work towards its incorporation into the WTO framework as an Annex 4 agreement, alongside other plurilateral agreements.

With the participation of Comoros and St. Kitts and Nevis after MC14, the total number of sponsors of the IFDA initiative has now reached 131.The IFDA is coordinated by Ambassador Sung-yo Choi (Republic of Korea).

Background

In 2017, a group of developing and least-developed members launched the Joint Initiative on Investment Facilitation for Development. Recognizing that trade and investment are twin engines of economic growth and sustainable development, the Joint Initiative approached the issue of investment on a different basis from previous discussions. Its objective was to develop a global agreement to improve the transparency and efficiency of investment-related regulations and procedures, thereby strengthening the efficiency and attractiveness of participating economies for foreign investors across all sectors of the economy (goods and services).

Negotiations on investment facilitation for development were formally launched in September 2020, and participating members concluded negotiations on the text of the Agreement in November 2023. While the IFDA is a plurilateral agreement (binding only on those members that accept it), it is open for all members to join.

More on the Joint Initiative on Investment Facilitation for Development.

Footnotes

1. "Global Economic Prospects" (June 2025), World Bank Group. Back to text
2. "Global Investment Trends Monitor", No. 50 (January 2026), UNCTAD. Back to text
3. "World Investment Report 2025" (June 2025), UNCTAD. Back to text