A workshop on “The Investment Facilitation Landscape: Emerging Trends and Approaches” was organised by the Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), International Trade Centre (ITC), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the World Bank and the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.

The workshop aimed to examine emerging global trends in investment facilitation and ease of doing business, and brought together policymakers, experts and industry stakeholders for focused discussions. It comprised three technical sessions covering India’s Approach to Investment Facilitation, International Investment Facilitation Framework Landscape, Investment Facilitation and Ease of Doing Business, and Options for Investment Facilitation Cooperation. The sessions explored practical ways to align India’s domestic reforms with global best practices.

Senior government officials and national and international experts shared perspectives on various aspects of investment facilitation and its relevance to ease of doing business. Panel discussions highlighted India’s investment policy and ongoing reforms, including licence rationalisation, decriminalisation of minor offences, digital compliance measures, and balanced regulation of Intellectual Property and Artificial Intelligence, as initial steps to support both domestic and foreign investment. Speakers also noted rising foreign direct investment, particularly in services, and referred to initiatives such as the India–EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) as positioning India strategically within global value chains.

The discussions also examined investment facilitation from a WTO perspective, highlighting the “trinity” of investment protection agreements, cooperation and facilitation investment agreements (CFIA), and trade agreements with investment provisions. Comparative insights were drawn from countries such as Nigeria, Vietnam and Australia, demonstrating how investment climate reforms and effective grievance redressal mechanisms contribute to attracting and retaining investment.

Each technical session concluded with an interactive question-and-answer segment, enabling meaningful engagement between speakers and participants. The discussions were insightful and comprehensive, reflecting diverse domestic and international perspectives on investment facilitation and underscoring the workshop’s value as a constructive platform for policy dialogue and knowledge exchange.

The event featured addresses by Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, Shri Amitabh Kumar; Additional Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Smt. Himani Pande; Secretary, Department of Land Resources, Shri Manoj Joshi; Chief Executive Officer, NITI Aayog, Shri B.V.R. Subrahmanyam; and Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India, Shri V. Anantha Nageswaran.

Investment facilitation workshop highlights India's reforms, WTO frameworks and international cooperation options to attract investment and stakeholders. Investment facilitation and alignment of domestic reforms with international frameworks were the central focus, emphasising licence rationalisation, decriminalisation of minor offences, digital compliance, and calibrated IP and AI regulation as steps to enhance investment attractiveness; the workshop also examined the WTO-related interaction among investment protection, cooperation and facilitation investment agreements, and trade agreements with investment provisions, and highlighted comparative reforms and grievance redressal mechanisms.