UNCTAD World Investment Forum Highlights Innovative Strategies for Sustainable Development & Women Empowerment

The World Investment Forum (WIF), hosted by UNCTAD and scheduled for October 16–20, 2023, in Abu Dhabi, is expected to address the urgent need for creative investment strategies that support socially and environmentally sustainable development initiatives with a focus on women's empowerment.

The 8th edition of WIF will spend its second and third days, under the subject "Investing in Sustainable Development," investigating the critical role that investment plays in achieving gender equality, the United Nations' fifth Sustainable Development Goal.

The event aims to promote cooperation between world leaders, encourage public-private sector interaction, and direct foreign trade and investment toward sustainable industries.

The UAE is committed to empowering women, and Mrs. Mouza Obaid Al Nasri, Executive Director of the SME sector at the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, highlighted programs such the "Gender Balance Council Strategy 2026."

The forum will include panel discussions, workshops, and side events, such as "Investment Promotion and its Impact on Gender Equality," organized in collaboration with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and "Gender Equality in Corporate Leadership," organized in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation and the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.

The WIF will bring together leaders, government representatives, business experts, and stakeholders to define the future of sustainable development and gender equality on a global scale with more than 7,000 participants from 160 countries.