GROUP OF 77
GENEVA
G-77 and China Statement
Item 5: Investment and enterprise for development: International investment in a turbulent era
(Geneva, 15 September 2026)
Madam President,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
At the outset, the Group of 77 and China wishes to thank the esteemed panel for the insightful discussion. We also thank the UNCTAD Secretariat for the comprehensive and timely documentation prepared for this session, in particular the World Investment Report 2026 and the report of the twelfth session of the Multi-year Expert Meeting on Investment, Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Productive Capacity-Building and Sustainable Development. We commend the quality of the analysis presented and the valuable insights generated during the Expert Meeting.
2. The Group notes with great concern the recent trends shaping the global investment landscape. As we have seen in the Investment, Enterprise and Development Commission, and as the World Investment Report 2026 confirms, while global foreign direct investment rose by 6 per cent to reach 1.6 trillion USD last year, this growth masks underlying fragility and disparities across countries, regions and sectors. Investment expansion was driven largely by a small number of megaprojects, and across most sectors, new project activity remains subdued.
Madam President,
3. The Group is deeply concerned that investment is becoming more selective, more political and more unequal. A handful of strategic sectors: semiconductors, artificial intelligence, clean energy and critical minerals; they now represent almost half of all announced greenfield projects in 2025. Yet least developed and lower-middle-income countries together attract barely 10 per cent of global greenfield investment in these strategic sectors. The geography of investment is also changing: 75 per cent of FDI going to the global South now flows to just 10 economies. Many of the world's developing countries, and almost every Least Developed Country, are made to watch this form of progress pass by.
4. The Group reiterates the following: (i) Investment must be sustainable in all dimensions: social, economic and environmental; (ii) While FDI remains a driver of development, its benefits must be maximized and equally distributed; (iii) It is alarming that sectors such as health, education or food security, sectors with a lasting impact on people’s lives, continue to face chronic underinvestment. This pattern of concentration risks widening existing development gaps and leaving behind the most vulnerable.
Madam President,
5. The Group of 77 & China notes that investment policymaking has become more active and more selective, with governments increasingly using targeted incentives and screening to pursue industrial development and economic security, resilience and domestic value creation. For developing countries, this structural shift raises the stakes of designing investment policies that are both strategic and competitive.
6. We stress the importance of strengthening domestic entrepreneurship and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, especially through programs such as UNCTAD's Empretec. MSMEs are the backbone of economies, as they account for approximately 90 per cent of all businesses worldwide and provide over two-thirds of employment. Supporting them means more inclusive participation and stronger local productive capacity.
7. The Group welcomes the discussion during the Expert Meeting on the importance of strategic specialization across the AI value chain and the need for tailored and forward-looking policy approaches. Artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies offer opportunities but also risks of further concentration. Stronger alignment between research, industry and government is essential, as are complementary policies on infrastructure, skills development and regulation to enable meaningful participation in the AI economy.
8. The Group of 77 and China wishes to express its particular concern on the impact of these trends on Africa and Latin America, the two regions most affected by the shift away from commodity-driven investment. In Africa, FDI fell to 70 billion USD in 2025, down from the 94 billion USD from 2024, with greenfield project values dropping by nearly one third. In Latin America, while FDI rose to 188 billion USD, greenfield investment fell by one third, with declines concentrated in manufacturing and logistics. Both regions remain trapped in commodity dependence, with 46 out of 54 African nations and all 12 South American countries classified as such. This structural vulnerability leaves them exposed to external shocks, while the investment boom in AI and other advanced manufacturing passes them by. Manufacturing greenfield investment declined by 20 per cent in developing economies and by 65 per cent in LDCs, further narrowing their pathways to industrialization. As such, the Group calls for enhanced international policy frameworks that enable these economies to diversify, build productive and participate meaningfully in the evolving global investment landscape.
Madam President,
9. The Group reaffirms its unwavering commitment to working with all partners to ensure that international investment serves as an engine of inclusive and sustainable development for all. We remain guided by the principles of the Geneva Consensus and the priorities reaffirmed at UNCTAD 16, particularly those concerning investment policy and policy frameworks that create an enabling environment at all levels. The Group stresses that the international community must uphold a multilateralism that leaves no one behind and prioritizes people-centered development.