LONDON, Feb 21 (KUNA) -- The Foreign Direct Investment Conference in 2025: Insights and Trends Shaping the Future of Investment, organized by the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA) in cooperation with the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), kicked off on Friday.
Kuwait's Assistant Foreign Minister for European Affairs Ambassador Sadiq Marafi, Kuwait's Ambassador to the United Kingdom Bader Al-Munaikh, Assistant Director General for Business Development at the KDIPA and Vice-Chairman of the Steering Committee of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) Mohammad Mulla Yaqoub, Head of the Kuwait Investment Office in London Abdulmohsen Al-Mukhaizeem are taking part in the conference.
Also participating are: Director for Investment Affairs at the British Department of Business and Trade John Edwards, and CEO of WAIPA Ismail Ersahin, in addition to a number of senior officials and financial and business experts from various countries around the world.
In his inaugural speech, Assistant Foreign Minister for European Affairs Ambassador Sadiq Marafi said the conference is being held at a time full of challenges but at the same time holds great opportunities.
"I recall with great pride the foreign policy of the State of Kuwait after independence, which combined diplomacy with investment," adding that Kuwait's strategic vision "planted the seeds of friendship" centuries ago, which grew in the European continent.
"I proudly announce that Kuwait's investments in the United Kingdom have grown by more than 400 percent in the past twenty years," he disclosed.
Ambassador Marafi stressed that the United Kingdom was and still is one of the best investment and tourism destinations for Kuwaitis, who are also among the largest real estate owners in the country.
He said that despite the economic and geopolitical challenges in various parts of the world, "we aim to achieve a rebalancing in a way that protects our interests." For his part, Director for Investment at the British Department of Business and Trade John Edwards told KUNA that the Kuwaiti economy is undergoing a transformation to innovative and clean energy industries.
"We work closely with the Kuwaiti government to identify sectors of interest in which we have expertise to cooperate in them" he said.
Participants in the conference discussed ways to attract high-quality investments to Europe through European investment promotion agencies in line with sustainable development goals and national economic strategies.
The first session explored emerging opportunities for foreign direct investments in the innovation and sustainable investment sectors to reach a comprehensive understanding of the current direct investment dynamics around the world, while the second session examined the strategies and trends that shape financing investments with a focus on political funds and stock markets.
The conference sessions included exclusive roundtable discussions for investment promotion agencies with the aim of finding cooperation strategies to address regional challenges facing investment in addition to strengthening partnerships.
The conferees also reviewed the expectations of global direct investment in the current year, most notably the continued growth of the services, communications, renewable energy, semiconductors, and industrial transformation using artificial intelligence.
The World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) was founded in Geneva in 1995 with the aim of enabling investment promotion agencies to work more effectively to achieve sustainable economic development and enhance the flow of direct investment.
The Association is responsible for building international networks that facilitate dialogue between governments and the private sector. It also provides training platforms and international conferences such as the World Investment Conference, which gives its members the opportunity to learn about emerging global trends and formulate investment policies in line with these developments. (end) nbs.ibi