CEO of Invest Qatar Urges Shift Towards Integrated Investment Ecosystems amid Global Changes
Doha, October 27 (QNA) - Qatar has called for a new approach to investment promotion, as geopolitical tensions, supply chain restructuring and rapid technological advances reshape global investment flows and create new opportunities in artificial intelligence, clean energy and advanced manufacturing.
HE Sheikh Ali bin Alwaleed Al-Thani, CEO of the Investment Promotion Agency Qatar (Invest Qatar), made the remarks at the opening of a roundtable held as part of the ninth World Investment Forum 2026 in Doha.
He said investment flows were increasingly concentrated in a limited number of major economies,with capital moving towards locations offering the most favorable conditions rather than necessarily those with the greatest need for investment.
This trend requires investment promotion agencies and special economic zones to rethink competitiveness, costs, incentives and market access, as these factors alone are no longer sufficient to attract investors, he said.
Investors are increasingly assessing the strength of entire economic ecosystems, including access to talent and technology, resilient and sustainable infrastructure, regulatory clarity, innovation capabilities and opportunities to build effective partnerships with local businesses.
From Qatar's perspective, HE Sheikh Ali said investment promotion should go beyond attracting capital to connecting investors with opportunities, partners and local capabilities, while creating conditions that allow businesses to establish operations, innovate and grow.
He added that investment promotion agencies and special economic zones had an opportunity to move beyond marketing investment destinations towards building integrated economic ecosystems that strengthen local capabilities, advance technological progress and support sustainable economic growth.
Meanwhile, Nan Li Collins, director of the Division on Investment and Enterprise at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said geopolitical tensions, supply chain restructuring and growing economic security concerns were prompting companies to reconsider their investment strategies.
At the same time, artificial intelligence, clean energy and advanced manufacturing were creating new sources of growth and competitiveness, she said.
Collins stressed that investment promotion agencies and special economic zones needed to build integrated ecosystems combining skilled workforces, technology, reliable and sustainable infrastructure, regulatory certainty, resilient supply chains and strong links with local companies.
She also noted that investment decisions required more than a convincing business proposition, with projects needing to address risk mitigation and environmental considerations.
In her capacity as co-chair of the Global Alliance of Special Economic Zones (GASEZ), Collins announced the establishment of a Green Zones Working Group under the alliance.
She said competitiveness and sustainability could no longer be pursued separately, adding that the new group would provide a platform for members and partners to exchange expertise, build capacity, promote green investment and develop model projects that could be adapted and replicated elsewhere.
Collins called on investment promotion agencies, investors, financial institutions, technology providers and development partners to take an active part in the initiative.
Ismail Ersahin, executive director and chief executive of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), said global investment was undergoing a fundamental transformation driven by geopolitical instability, changing supply chains and technological advances.
Investors were increasingly looking beyond traditional cost advantages and incentives to assess resilience, skills, infrastructure and the strength of the wider investment ecosystem, he said.
Ersahin also highlighted the growing role of artificial intelligence in investment promotion, both as a source of new investment opportunities in digital infrastructure and emerging technology value chains and as a tool for improving the work of investment agencies.
AI could enable more targeted investor outreach, faster facilitation and more effective project follow-up, he said, adding that its benefits depended on combining technology with reliable data, professional expertise and effective coordination while maintaining trust, transparency and accountability. "AI should help us redesign the investor journey, not merely digitize existing processes," he said.
Ersahin said investment promotion agencies could also play a greater role in turning opportunities into actual projects by identifying and consolidating project opportunities, coordinating with government bodies and project sponsors, and connecting investors with banks and other financial institutions.
He called for closer cooperation between investment promotion agencies and economic zones through coordinated investment targeting, land and infrastructure preparation, investor services, skills development and stronger supplier links.
Such coordination could provide investors with a more integrated and transparent experience while ensuring that investment supported national development priorities and strengthened local economic capabilities, he said.
James X. Zhan, chairman of the executive board of the World Investment Conference and former director of investment and enterprise at UNCTAD, outlined five factors through which geopolitical developments influence investment strategies and global value chains: trade, technology, business competitiveness, finance and transport.
He said investment strategies were increasingly shaped by geopolitical conditions, technological developments, sustainability and national economic policies.
Traditional trade rules, manufacturing processes and fundamental investment frameworks were continuing to change, while technological developments were reshaping investment patterns and requirements, he said.
Zhan also highlighted the impact of competition between countries, product subsidies and the adoption of modern technologies, alongside the effects of geopolitical developments on financing, money transfers and transport routes.
Disruptions affecting strategic waterways, including the Strait of Hormuz, the Panama Canal and the Black Sea, illustrated how transport risks could influence investment flows, he said.
He added that governments were increasingly using investment screening and related regulatory mechanisms to determine which investments they wished to attract, with implications for the ownership, regulation and future direction of global capital flows.
Zhan stressed the importance of aligning investment with the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly through clean and alternative energy, to generate lasting economic value for countries and future generations.
He also called for new investment strategies to replace approaches that had previously relied on abundance, relocation and the repositioning of supply chains. (QNA)