UAE global investment forum kicks off

The 6th Annual UAE Global Investment Forum opened on Tuesday with more than 300 high-profile investors from 20 countries taking part. The event is organized by the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) under the patronage of Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Addressing the opening ceremony, ADDED Chairman Nasser Ahmad Al-Sowaidi said the gathering aims to provide a platform for business leaders and financiers to discuss the obstacles facing the business community in the Arab region and beyond. The conference will also discuss investment in Abu Dhabi and the outlook of the global and regional markets, he noted. "The volume of global investment went down by 18 percent from USD 1.408 trillion in 2011 to USD 1.35 trillion last year," Al-Sowaidi said, citing the 2013 World Investment Report of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). "A meticulous study of the global investment map shows a sharp decline it the flows of foreign direct investment (FDII), which requires more attention," he pointed out. The developing countries attracted more FDI than the developed ones for the first time last year; the developing countries accounted for 52 percent of the total global FDI according to the World Investment Report, he remarked. A look into the investment map in the Middle East and North Africa region tells that the UAE, particularly the Abu-Dhabi Emirate, took the central stage, thanks to its political stability and competitive atmosphere and investor confidence, Al-Sowaidi went on. The UNCTAD figures show that the FDI flow into the UAE topped USD 9.6 billion last year, thus rating the UAE as the Arab world's second most investment-attractive economy, he added