We are pleased to announce that the 11th Annual Forum of Developing Country Investment Negotiators will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, on February 7–9, 2018. It will be co-hosted by the Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest), the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the South Centre.

The annual forum provides a unique platform for discussing current trends and perspectives aimed at ensuring that investment agreements support sustainable development goals. It gives participants an opportunity to share common experiences, discuss emerging issues, review recent legal developments, and network with colleagues from other developing countries, experts in the field and members of civil society.

The forum will address two major trends that are changing the face of investment negotiations today:

The growth of multilateral and regional negotiations
The expansion of the scope of agreements to include a host of issues, such as trade and other economic dimensions, that had previously been negotiated separately
What do these trends mean for the role of developing countries in designing next-generation treaties? How do these questions relate to linking investment to sustainable development? How will these trends alter the structure of bilateral investment treaties? What is the most appropriate scope of agreements? Should negotiations be bilateral, regional or multilateral? Would it be more effective to negotiate separate agreements, or should trade and investment be chapters of the same deal? These are among the challenges to be addressed in Nairobi.

For more information on the Annual Forum of Developing Country Investment Negotiators, please visit http://www.iisd.org/investment/dci and view our video: http://www.iisd.org/library/annual-forum-developing-country-investment-negotiators