UNCTAD to Hold Ninth World Investment Forum in Doha as Global FDI Climbs to 1.6 Trillion Dollars
UN Trade and Development, UNCTAD, highlighted on 28 August 2026 its upcoming ninth World Investment Forum, to be held in Doha, Qatar, from 25 to 27 October 2026, under the theme “Investing in the Future,” against the backdrop of its World Investment Report 2026, which showed global foreign direct investment rose 6 percent to 1.6 trillion dollars in 2025, ending two years of decline.
A Doha Platform for Policy and Capital
The organization described the Forum as the United Nations’ flagship event for the global investment community, held in partnership with the State of Qatar. It said the event will bring together policymakers, investors, business leaders and international financial institutions at a time when geopolitical tensions, economic fragmentation and rapid technological change are reshaping global investment flows.
The programme spans discussions on artificial intelligence, critical minerals, energy, infrastructure, sustainable finance, tourism and culture, and emerging investment opportunities including the space economy. It will feature Global Leaders Plenaries, Ministerial Roundtables on investment and entrepreneurship, the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Dialogue, a high level session on investment in the Gulf region, and a global investment promotion conference. It said the Forum is expected to attract senior government officials, heads of international organizations, investment authorities, multinational corporations, investors, entrepreneurs and financial institutions; it did not disclose a projected attendance figure.
FDI Recovers, but Concentration Deepens
The World Investment Report 2026 found that the recovery in global FDI remains uneven. It noted that excluding conduit flows through major European financial centers, the increase was 4 percent rather than the headline 6 percent. Investment in developed economies increased 11 percent in 2025, while flows to developing economies rose 2 percent to about 901 billion dollars, a gap of 9 percentage points between the two groups on our calculation. More than 80 percent of global FDI went to the 20 largest host economies. On the headline figures, this implies that more than roughly 1.28 trillion dollars went to those economies alone, on our calculation, leaving less than roughly 320 billion dollars for all other host economies.
The report also found that a small number of strategic sectors accounted for 44 percent of the value of global greenfield investment projects in 2025, up from 16 percent in 2020. On our calculation, that is an increase of 28 percentage points, meaning the share of greenfield value concentrated in those sectors has nearly tripled, up by a factor of about 2.75, over the 5 year period.
Separately, working back from the reported 6 percent rise to 1.6 trillion dollars, global FDI in 2024 stood at approximately 1.5 trillion dollars on our calculation, which puts the 2025 increase at roughly 90 billion dollars in absolute terms.
| Measure | 2025 figure |
|---|---|
| Global FDI | $1.6 trillion |
| Change from 2024 | +6% |
| Developed economies growth | +11% |
| Developing economies growth | +2% |
| Share of FDI to top 20 host economies | >80% |
| Greenfield value in top strategic sectors | 44% (16% in 2020) |
Figures on FDI and greenfield concentration are as published in the organization’s World Investment Report 2026; the implied 2024 base, the dollar values attached to the 80 percent share, the developed to developing growth gap, and the concentration multiple are on our calculation.
Why it matters
The Forum is being held in Doha, Qatar, in partnership with the State of Qatar. The organization said holding the event there “signals UNCTAD’s commitment to the region and recognizes the role of investment actors as essential drivers of sustainable development.” The programme includes a dedicated high level session on investment in the Gulf region, alongside sessions on artificial intelligence, critical minerals and infrastructure, the same themes identified earlier as reshaping where global capital moves. The Report’s own figures show more than 80 percent of global FDI already concentrates in 20 economies, the backdrop against which the Forum’s discussions on investment concentration will take place.
Outlook
The Forum runs from 25 to 27 October 2026 in Doha, with registration and the full programme now open through the organization’s own channels. UNCTAD framed the core policy challenge for the meeting as reaching more economies with investment even as flows recover, given that the Report found strategic sector concentration in greenfield projects has widened sharply since 2020. Further detail on individual sessions, including the Gulf region discussion and the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Dialogue, is already available through the Forum’s published programme ahead of the October event.
Source: UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
