Proactive measures are often necessary to attract investors into a country or a region, particularly those investors that can contribute to sustainable and inclusive development. Investment promotion is often the main business of investment promotion agencies (IPAs), which are the armed arms of governments to attract investors that have not yet selected an investment destination. IPAs are at the forefront of governments’ efforts to attract and facilitate international investment, but they navigate a difficult economic environment, amid declining global FDI flows, global crises, raising geopolitical tensions and rapidly evolving megatrends. As they are increasingly under budget pressure, agencies are shifting their efforts from the quantity to the quality of investments and have become more selective in their attraction efforts and services to investors.
The OECD provides evidence-based comparative analysis and benchmarking on the role of IPAs in supporting their countries’ national development objectives, including to help implement the SDGs, support the green and digitalisation transitions and contribute to regional development. It also facilitates peer-learning and the exchange of experiences and best practices amongst investment promotion practitioners.. Beyond the OECD, IPAs from the Middle East and North Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Eurasia have gained significant benefits from comprehensive mappings of their IPAs and cross-country and cross-regional comparisons, leveraging best practices both within their regions and from OECD countries.
