OREANDA-NEWS. September 6, 2011. The annual WAIPA World Investment Conference took place in Geneva, Switzerland on September 5-6, 2011. The Conference brought together about 300 participants including international panels, government officials, chief executives from the private sector, representatives from Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs), as well as members of civil society and academia.

The WIC 2011 focused on the challenges raised by the current economic recovery, particularly the development of investments that can make growth sustainable. The event represented a unique opportunity for participants to network with different global investment players at a senior level. Moreover, valuable analyses were provided by a wide range of prominent speakers, including prestigious academics business leaders, government officials and senior officers from international organizations. The conference explored the following themes:

• Back to Basics - Ending the Short Term View

• Changing Macro-Economic Realities and FDI

• The Long Term View - Innovation, Green Technology and Economic Development

• Narrowing the Technology Gap - Host Country Innovation, R&D Relocation and FDI

Participating at the conference AZPROMO head Adil Mammadov discussed the present as well as future cooperation opportunities between WAIPA and AZPROMO.

Note: The World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) is a non-governmental organization founded in 1995, which acts as a forum for cooperation and exchange of best practices for the promotion and development of investments. It brings together 244 investment and promotion agencies from 162 countries and has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. During the XV WIC in Buenos Aires in July 2010, AZPROMO was elected as one of the 11 regional directors of WAIPA for South Caucases and Central Asia as well as a member of WAIPA Steering Committee. It's important to mention that Azerbaijan represented by AZPROMO is the only CIS country elected for WAIPA Steering Committee.

AZPROMO's presence in the WAIPA's Steering Committee opens a range of opportunities for sharing the information on the successful reforms undertaken in Azerbaijan and targeted to the improvement of investment climate, facilitate the cooperation ties between AZPROMO and World Investment Promotion Agencies as well as strengthen the spectrum of its activities in the region. WAIPA's Consultative Committee comprises the following international and multilateral organizations, partners of the Association - UN Agencies, OECD, IEDC (International Economic Development Council), IFC, PROINVEST as well as "Ernst & Young", "GDP Global", "IBM", "Buck Consultants International" and "Investment Consulting Associates".