Launching the Guide during the Sixth International Investment Promotion Conference is of great significance, as the Conference aims at addressing challenges for investment promotion at a time of global economic crisis and of opportunities in the forthcoming recovery of the world economy.

This guide for investors, investment promoters and policymakers is an integral part of UNCTAD’s work in the Silk Road region. The publication was jointly prepared with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) China in 2006, and was updated by UNCTAD in 2009. It includes an abstract from an UNCTAD report on an investment promotion strategy for the tourism sector of China’s Silk Road provinces and autonomous regions.

The guide covers Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and the Western Chinese provinces, aiming to serve as a strategic tool for investment promoters in the countries and provinces portrayed in it. It will allow systematized comprehensive information on the Silk Road region to be used - a key competitive issue in the world of investment promotion. It will also serve policymakers and decision-makers, as it provides an integrated economic picture of the Silk Road.

As the focal point in the United Nations system for investment, as part of its work on trade and development, and building on 30 years of experience in this area, UNCTAD promotes understanding of matters related to foreign direct investment (FDI), among other key issues.

UNCTAD’s Division on Investment and Enterprise also assists developing countries in attracting and benefiting from FDI and in building their productive capacities and international competitiveness. The emphasis is on an integrated policy approach to investment and enterprise development.

Main features of the Investment Guide to the Silk Road were presented by Mr. James Zhan, Director of UNCTAD’s Division on Investment and Enterprise.