October 19, 2021
Introduction
The new industrial revolution and new technologies had a critical impact on international production and productive capacity building. While these changes brought challenges in international production, they could also provide profound opportunities for development and integration in emerging value chains provided that countries are holistically prepared for the changes. This session addressed the challenges and opportunities that arose in international production and discussed the measures to be adopted by the governments, private sector, and international communities to take advantage of the opportunities for development that emerged from the changing international production landscape and to counter the main challenges.
Session Highlights
The panellists discussed that there are three structural megatrends including technological change, geopolitics, and sustainability that has an impact on international production. Investments in infrastructure, digital, and the financial sector are important, but it is also essential to invest in industries and manufacturing sectors. For developing countries, it is more important to invest in industries to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and bring structural change.
The discussion examined whether sustainable development should be considered as global development. To bring fairness and stability these investments should be inclusive, focusing on public participation. Countries are focusing on investing in the ecosystem and adopting energy -efficient practices. Therefore, it is important to have cooperation between the public and private sectors. Hence, the stakeholder approach should be adopted instead of the shareholder approach to attain cooperation.
The panellists stated that investments are crucial for long term sustainable growth and returns. Investments in the areas aligned towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as healthcare, education, and telecommunication is necessary to recover from the pandemic and achieve a resilient economy. The business and private sector play a vital role in increasing the quantity and quality of FDIs moving across the globe. However, for developing countries government investments in health, education, urban infrastructure, and human capital are necessary. Therefore, a three-way approach should be adopted including the private sector, governments, and civil society, rather than only focusing on ease of doing business.
Opening remarks
- Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
On the panel were
- E. Mr. Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of Indonesia
- E. Ms. Hala El Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Arab Republic of Egypt
- E. Mr. Bisher Al-Khasawneh, Prime Minister of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
- E. Mr. Imran Khan, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
- Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
- Mr. Aziz Akhanouch, Head of Governement of the Kingdom of Morocco
- Børge Brende, President, World Economic Forum (WEF)
- Peter Robinson, President and CEO, United States Council for International Business (USCIB)
- Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director, Center for Sustainable Development, Columbia University
- Roberto Marques, Executive Chairman & Group CEO, Natura & Co, Brazil
- Peter Bakker, President and CEO, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
- Hans-Paul Bürkner, Global Chair Emeritus, Boston Consulting Group
Moderator
- Jennifer Blanke, Non executive Director at ARC Ltd.