World Investment Forum 2026 opens in Qatar amid global economic uncertainty

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World Investment Forum 2026 opens in Qatar amid global economic uncertainty

2026-10-26 15:47 Last Updated At：17:53

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, at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty.

Organized 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.

The agency'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 investment in sectors critical to development, including infrastructure, energy, healthcare and food systems, fell by more than 25 percent in developing countries.

UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2026 further found that more than 80 percent 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.

Infrared cameras capture snow leopard family at nature reserve in Inner Mongolia

The rare footage of a family of three snow leopards, including a cub playing with a stick, was released recently after being captured by infrared cameras at the Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The footage shows the three snow leopards briefly appeared together on a rocky hillside before the male walked off into the distance. In another clip, the cub played with a stick, walking around and occasionally lying down, while the female watched nearby.

"The cub is now almost the same size as an adult leopard. It is nearly one and a half years old and has adapted very well to the Helan Mountain environment. It is growing up very healthily," said a staff member of the administration bureau of the Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve.

The snow leopard is a first-class nationally protected wild animal in China, and its survival is an important indicator of the health of high-altitude ecosystems.

To protect its habitat, the reserve has continued to track individual snow leopards through field patrols and infrared camera inspections, accumulating rich data for species protection and scientific research.

To date, five individual snow leopards have been monitored in the reserve.