WAIPA: Founding, Mission, and Global Role
WAIPA is an autonomous, non-profit organization, established pursuant to articles 60 to 79 of the Swiss Civil Code. It operates with the institutional characteristics and public function commonly associated with intergovernmental organizations. WAIPA was founded in 1995 at the Palais des Nations, where representatives from 59 countries came together, under the auspices of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), to advance a shared vision of investment as a driver of sustainable development.
Building on the steps taken by its founding members, WAIPA now holds a strategic position in supporting Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) in promoting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This is especially relevant amid the increasing urgency to address climate change, geopolitical and economic shifts, and technological advancements that deeply affect investment flows and countries’ development.
WAIPA is widely regarded as the only global umbrella organization for IPAs, bringing together the global community of IPAs, with over 110 countries represented as full members. Through its Steering Committee, subcommittees, and institutional partnerships, WAIPA ensures broad-based, country-driven representation and engagement across the full spectrum of the IPA ecosystem.
Institutional Evolution and Intergovernmental Functions
The growing relevance and impact of WAIPA’s work in the global investment landscape have led its members to express strong support for the organization’s continued institutional evolution. During the General Assembly held at the 28th World Investment Conference, members voted in favor of advancing the transformation of WAIPA into a fully-fledged intergovernmental organization.
Beyond its foundation and structure, WAIPA’s intergovernmental functions and its contribution to the international investment community can be observed in:
- The role of its Consultative Committee
- The impact of its events
- The projects developed for member countries
Consultative Committee and Global Partnerships
WAIPA relies on its Consultative Committee Members to define and implement its work programme. The significance of this Committee’s role lies in its architecture, which comprises senior leadership from several international organizations, including the OECD, UNCTAD, UNIDO, the World Bank Group, ITC, UN Tourism, and the ILO. These actors align the organization’s activities with multilateral development agendas and international standards, enabling WAIPA to operate as a hybrid platform that bridges national agencies and global governance structures in a functional or de facto intergovernmental role.
Events, Capacity Building, and the World Investment Conference (WIC)
As part of WAIPA’s work programme, it hosts various high-level international events and platforms for dialogues throughout the year. These provide discussion forums on investment promotion and sustainability, fostering engagement between governments, international institutions, and the private sector. WAIPA brings together global IPAs, government authorities, and experts to learn through high-level panel sessions and peer-to-peer dialogue.
Additionally, through its network and expertise, WAIPA implements various capacity-building projects and technical assistance initiatives that support member IPAs seeking to enhance investment attraction in their respective countries, including Least Developed Countries, in partnership with EIF-WTO.
The power of WAIPA as a platform for dialogue and connection in the international investment community is further highlighted during the World Investment Conference (WIC). The last edition, the 29th WIC, held in Sharjah, UAE, was a three-day event, with one day exclusively for WAIPA members. It featured 130 speakers in 160 sessions and drew over 12,000 participants from 142 countries. The WIC is not only a space to learn but also to form connections that turn dialogue into action. The event concluded with hundreds of B2B meetings, 1 billion USD projects discussed, and USD 104.5 million in MoUs, contracts, and investment commitments.
Both the 28th and the 29th editions featured ministerial roundtables, ambassador-level engagement, and significant participation from international organizations and global institutions, including the World Bank, UNCTAD, WTO, ITC, AIIB, IsDB, UN Tourism, UNIDO, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), OECD, ILO, and WEF.
WAIPA’s Impact: Promoting “Investment for Good”
Through investor engagement, technical assistance, and policy advocacy, WAIPA exercises its intergovernmental functions. It supports improvements in investment climates, ensures global representation of the IPA ecosystem, and promotes “Investment for Good”—FDI that contributes meaningfully to sustainable and inclusive development.
Our Partners
WAIPA partners can be international organizations, multilateral agencies or other non-governmental organizations (with local or international focus), think tanks, consultancies and universities. Partnerships with WAIPA are established based on mutual needs, in terms of WAIPA events, WAIPA training activities and/or WAIPA’s technical assistance efforts. Technical assistance and training initiatives are generally conducted in coordination with, or with the support of, WAIPA partners.
WAIPA Consultative Committee Members
International Economic Development Council (IEDC)
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
International Labor Organization (ILO)
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
World Bank Group (WBG)
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
WAIPA Partner Organizations
World Economic Forum
Islamic Development Bank
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit
UN-OHRLLS
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
