Doha: The World Investment Forum 2026 opened in Qatar's capital on Sunday, bringing together more than 5,000 participants to address global investment challenges and explore ways to channel more capital into developing economies, amid geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty.
Organised by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and hosted by Qatar, the three-day forum is running under the theme ‘Investing in the Future’. High-level attendees include the prime ministers of Qatar, Lesotho, Libya and Madagascar, along with four deputy prime ministers and nearly 50 government ministers.
More than 80 sessions featuring over 400 speakers will examine investment policies, artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, sustainable finance, climate change, tourism and emerging industries.
The forum opened against the backdrop of fresh UNCTAD data pointing to continued weakness in global investment activity.
UNCTAD's latest Global Investment Trends Monitor, released Sunday, found that while the value of international investment rose in the first half of 2026 — buoyed by major transactions in strategic sectors — new investment projects and cross-border deals continued to decline worldwide.
The report also showed that investment projects critical to development, including those related to infrastructure, energy, healthcare and food systems, fell by more than 25 per cent in developing countries.
UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2026 further found that more than 80 per cent of global foreign direct investment was concentrated in just 20 economies in 2025, underscoring persistent disparities in international capital flows.
Many of these concerns are reflected directly in the forum's agenda, which includes two ministerial meetings on investment and entrepreneurship, as well as discussions on investment opportunities in the Gulf region and other emerging markets.
This year's edition also reflects a broadened scope, introducing for the first time a dedicated track on artificial intelligence — covering investment in AI infrastructure and opportunities for developing economies — as well as new topics spanning post-conflict reconstruction and recovery, the space industry and the cultural sector.
Launched in 2008, the World Investment Forum is held every two years to promote dialogue on international investment policies and drive investment in sustainable development.