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investment facilitation for development

Members participating in IFD Agreement issue joint ministerial declaration at end of MC14

The 129 WTO members participating in the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement (IFDA) issued a joint ministerial declaration on 29 March at the end of the 14th Ministerial Conference in Yaound?, Cameroon. A joint press release by the IFDA co-Coordinators - the Republic of Korea and Chile - is provided below.

Members participating in IFD Agreement issue joint ministerial declaration at end of MC14

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• Investment facilitation for development
• 14th WTO Ministerial Conference
• Ministerial conferences

Joint press release

Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement

Jointly issued by the Republic of Korea and Chile

30 March 2026

MC14 in Yaound? highlighted unprecedented political support for the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement, expanded participation, and overwhelming backing for its incorporation into the WTO rulebook. Encouraged by the strong recognition of the Agreement's development benefits at MC14, the 129 Members parties will continue to explore practical pathways for its effective implementation.

An overwhelming majority of WTO Members expressed strong support for incorporating the Agreement into the WTO framework alongside other so-called 'Annex 4' plurilateral agreements. On 28 March, at the first-ever dedicated Ministerial session of all WTO Members on the IFD Agreement, 165 of the WTO's 166 Members supported the proposed Ministerial Decision on its incorporation. Earlier in the Ministerial Conference, T?rkiye received a standing ovation when it announced that it would set aside its longstanding objection to the incorporation of the Agreement into the WTO rulebook.

Despite the absence of consensus on incorporation, the initiative will continue to move forward.

The 129 parties to the Agreement have issued a Joint Ministerial Declaration, signalling their strong collective determination to secure the timely entry into force and implementation of the IFD Agreement within the WTO framework, while intensifying efforts to advance technical assistance in support of implementation.

Bangladesh's decision to join the IFD Agreement brought the total number of parties to 129 - over three-quarters of the WTO Membership - including 92 developing Members, of which 32 are African, and 28 are least-developed countries. The Agreement is open to any WTO Member who wishes to join.

Recent research estimates that implementing the Agreement could increase global FDI by at least 9.1% and raise global GDP by almost 1 percent over ten years.

The IFD Agreement contains provisions for developing and least-developed country Members to receive technical support for implementation, so that they can fully benefit from the Agreement. To date, 27 IFD needs assessments in developing and least-developed country Members have either been completed or are ongoing. At MC14, several Members and partner financial institutions announced new support for IFD Agreement needs assessments and related implementation efforts.

In particular, at a high-level multi-stakeholder event on the margins of MC14, on 25 March, the European Union indicated that, in the initial phase of the EIB-WTO Trade and Investment Facilitation Initiative, the European Investment Bank would provide financing of up to EUR 300 million for mature projects in targeted countries parties to the IFD Agreement, with the potential to mobilize close to EUR 1 billion in total investment. ? China announced an additional contribution of USD 1.59 million to the International Trade Centre (ITC) to support technical assistance projects on investment facilitation, aiming to assist 10 developing Members in conducting needs assessments and subsequent implementation. The United Kingdom announced a contribution of GBP 750,000 to the World Bank Competitiveness for Jobs and Economic Transformation (C-JET) Fund reflecting its commitment to ensuring that the benefits of IFD Agreement are shared by all.

"The IFD Agreement is the hard-earned result of 129 Members' efforts and a vital engine for growth and development, especially for developing and least-developed members," said Korean Minister for Trade Han-koo Yeo. "It imposes no obligations on WTO Members who choose not to join it, and all WTO Members will benefit from parties' implementation of its provisions. We will ensure that its benefits are delivered to all participants without delay and are determined to push forward to bring the IFDA into the WTO architecture," he said.

"The IFD Agreement is fully compatible with the WTO legal framework, and has earned the backing of almost the entire WTO Membership because of the clear and large benefits for all Members, especially developing countries, and for the multilateral trading system. We will continue to work towards the incorporation of the IFD Agreement into the WTO rulebook," added Paula Est?vez, Chile's Vice-Minister for International Economic Relations.

"I congratulate the 129 participants of the IFD Agreement on their determination to keep pushing forward," said WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. "Our goal is a more agile WTO that can seize opportunities and move nimbly to deliver benefits for people and businesses around the world, and the IFD Agreement represents an important step in that direction."

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