The World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), established in 1995 by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) & 50 other Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs), is a non-governmental organisation that aims to promote understanding, cooperation, and best practices among IPAs worldwide.  

WAIPA serves as a platform for over 134 IPAs from 110 countries, representing nearly 56% of the world’s geography, to network, exchange information, and learn from each other's experiences. It also facilitates access to data on FDI trends and investment opportunities and advocates for IPAs at international forums. By providing training and capacity-building programs, WAIPA empowers IPAs to effectively attract and facilitate foreign direct investment (FDI), thus contributing to global economic development. 
WAIPA is led by a Steering Committee consisting of 14 elected representatives from the member countries that play a crucial role in developing and implementing strategic plans. These members are elected for two years. 

India’s WAIPA Presidency 

Invest India, the national investment promotion agency of India joined WAIPA in 2017. The same year, it assumed a regional leadership role in the WAIPA’s steering committee for 2017-19, followed by a Vice Presidency for 2019-21. It was elected as WAIPA president for the period 2021-23. Invest India’s election as the WAIPA president reaffirmed India’s position as the world’s most exciting investment destination.  

As the President of the WAIPA, Invest India became the face and voice of all member IPAs at the World Economic Forum at Davos in 2022 and 2023. It was invited as the keynote speaker at all major events of WAIPA's 10 Consultative Committee members. It also got connected to the World Investment for Development Alliance, an alliance of 13 multilateral — WEF, UN ESCAP, World Bank, UNWTO, UNIDO, UNCTAD, OECD, ITC, ILO, WAIPA, African Union, IISD, and AIB — working towards promoting investment for sustainable development. 

Invest India’s Presidency focused on steering WAIPA to take the big leap to become an organisation of authority and a global reference point when it comes to promoting investments and helping the IPA community to be future-ready. Some of the significant achievements are as follows:   

• After due research, WAIPA curated masterclasses exclusively for member IPAs on Financing Green Hydrogen Projects, Startups, Financial Institutional Investments, and Attracting Investment in the Agri-Food Sector. 

• Launched WAIPA's Business Advisory Board (BAB), bringing together business executives from  SAP, Medtronic, Intel, DP World, etc.  

• Launched WAIPA’s member portal (Envisaged to be the largest community of IPA professionals globally) with 75+ IPAs active pages & and a 300+ member base. 

• Constituted informal engagement group of ‘IPAs of G20 Nations’ working towards the identified common opportunities & challenges. 

• Became a founding member of WIDA and held two consecutive, successful side events at the WEF in partnership with UNCTAD. 

• Launched its presence at COP 27 as an important stakeholder. 

• Implemented a new expansion strategy, resulting in the addition of 20 new member IPAs.  

• Organised the biggest ever WAIPA’s annual flagship event, the World Investment Conference (WIC), in Geneva in September 2022 with 104 participating countries​ and 15 multilateral institutions. 

• Gained 300% jump on digital platforms; 1 Mn viewership during WIC-22. 

World Investment Conference - 2023 

Since its inception in 1995, WAIPA has been organising WIC to address current economic and social issues that may affect global investment flows and other strategic and policy considerations. The conference witnesses the participation of member IPAs, multilateral organisations like OECD, ILO, UNIDO, World Bank, etc. and investors, becoming a platform to announce initiatives for LDCs to strengthen the investment ecosystem in the global south.  

WIC has established itself as the event for IPAs to engage with potential investors and other key stakeholders, learn about the latest trends in investment promotion, share best practices and case studies, discuss policy challenges and opportunities, and promote their countries and investment destinations. Whereas, from the multilateral organisations and the private sector point of view, WIC provides a platform to engage with IPAs and share their perspectives on investment promotion and FDI. 

The 27th WAIPA World Investment Conference will be held from December 11-14, 2023, at the India International Convention & Expo Centre - Yashobhoomi, New Delhi. The overarching theme of the conference is Empowering Investors: IPAs Pioneering Future Growth.  

This highly anticipated event in the investment promotion calendar is expected to attract over 600 participants from around the world. The parallel sessions will focus on Agri-Food Processing, Energy/ Infrastructure, Tourism, Automotive & Machinery, ICT/Technology, and Life Sciences. 

The Conference will also host an Experience India Centre, a showcase of cutting-edge tech at population scale use, attractive tourism options, services, and audio-visual/ static display of Indian premium products with world-class quality and packaging.