| Type | Conference presentation |
| Event | UNCTAD Expert Meeting on South-South FDI |
| Organized by | UNCTAD |
| Location | Geneva, Switzerland |
| Date | December 17–18, 2007 |
| Slides | Download the presentation (PDF) |
A contribution to the UNCTAD Expert Meeting on the developmental implications of South-South FDI, Geneva (December 17–18, 2007).
In short: How developing countries’ own view of their outward investment shifted — from a frame of South-South cooperation toward one centred on building global competitiveness.
About the talk
This contribution to a UNCTAD expert meeting examined home-country perspectives on outward investment from developing countries — that is, how the countries sending the investment understood and approached it. It traced an evolution in thinking: from viewing South-to-South investment primarily through the lens of solidarity and cooperation among developing nations, toward seeing outward investment as a strategic tool for building the global competitiveness of home-country firms.
From the conference
“At the UNCTAD Expert Meeting, Geneva, 2007”
What the talk covered
- A shift in framing — developing countries increasingly saw outward FDI not just as South-South cooperation but as a route to competitiveness for their own firms.
- Home-country stakes — the meeting weighed what sending countries gain and risk when their firms invest abroad, including effects on domestic investment and capabilities.
- Policy implications for the South — how home governments might support productive outward investment while managing its domestic trade-offs.
- A development lens throughout — the discussion kept the developmental consequences for both home and host countries at the centre.
Get the slides
The full presentation is available as a PDF:
⇩ Download the presentation (PDF)
