INF/IFD/W/12  
 
4 December 2019  
(19-8362) Page: 1/2 
  Original: English  
 
 
  
WTO STRUCTURED DISCU SSIONS ON  
INVESTMENT  FACILITATION FOR DEV ELOPMENT   
MEETING OF 12 DECEMB ER 2019  
ANNOTATED A GENDA BY THE COORDIN ATOR  
Following the convening notice sent to all delegations on 2 December  2019, this annotated agenda 
is intended to facilitate discussions at the upcoming meeting.  
 
As indicated in the convening notice, the main purpose of the meeting is twofold, namely:   
 
i. to take stock of the substantial progress achieved during the second p art of this year in further 
developing the elements of a framework on investment facilitation through delegations' 
comprehensive and in -depth views, positions and contributions based on the working 
document  (INF/IFD/RD/39) ; and  
ii. to plan the next step s of the Structured Discussions in  the months ahead  in the run -up to 
MC12 .  
As per usual practice, t he meeting will also provide the opportunity for Members to revert to any 
issues discussed at previous meetings, or to raise any other investment facilitation -related issues 
that they may wish . 
 
In keeping with the open, transparent and inclusive nature of this initiative, all WTO Members ar e 
invited to participate in the  meeting.  Attendance of/participation in the meeting  is without prejudice 
to Members' position on the joint initiative . 
 
1  OPENING REMARKS BY W TO DIRECTOR -GENERAL ROBERTO AZEVÊDO  
1.1.  The WTO Director -General Roberto Azevêdo will address the Structured Discussions on 
Investment Facilitation for Development, provid ing opening remarks.  
2  STOCK -TAKING OF WORK  OVER THE PERIOD SEP TEMBER -DECEMBER 2019  AND NEXT 
STEPS   
2.1.  Over the period from September  to November 2019, the Structured Discussions held four open -
ended meetings . Following an organizational meeting on 23 September , three thematically -
organized substantive meetings were held respectively on 17 and 31 October , and 25 November 
allowing participating Members to conduct a thorough discussion of all the sections of the working 
document . As evidenced by the high level of participation and engagement during the se meetings, 
and as revealed by my informal consultations prior to this meeting, there is a general sense among 
participating Members that the Structured Discussions have made good progress in further  
develop ing the elements of a possible multilateral framework.  
2.2.  Following the guidance of the recent Joint Ministerial Statement signed by 98 Members ,1 as 
well as the statements made by several participating Members at the last meeting asking for the 
                                                
1 In which they stated their commit ment "to intensify work to further develop the framework for 
facilitating foreign direct investments, and work towards a concrete outcome on Investment Facilitation for INF/IFD/W/12  
 
- 2 - 
 
  preparation of  a streamlined text and advocating t he move to a negotiating mode in the first 
semester  of 2020 , I held informal bilateral consultations  on 27 -28 November , to which all Members 
have been convened.2 At the forthcoming meeting, I will report on my extensive  bilateral  
consultations  and make concrete suggestions on possible next steps in order to facilitate our work 
in the next phase and run -up to MC12.   
3  ANY OTHER INVESTMENT  FACILITATION -RELATE D ISSUES  
3.1.  Under this agenda item, as per usual practice, d elegations may raise any other investment 
facilitation -related issue s and/or revert to any issues discussed at previous meetings.3 Members may 
also make any comments on the Assessment s by the Coordinator, prepared under my responsibility . 
4  OTHER BUSINESS  
 
__________  
 
 
                                                
Development at the Twelfth WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12) ". See document WT/L/1072/Rev.1 o f 22 
November 2019.  
2 The invitation to the informal consultations was sent to all Members by e -mail on 25 November 2019.  
3 The Structured Discussions meeting held on 17  October addressed sections II and IV; the meeting 
held on 31  October focused on secti on III; and the meeting held on 25 November addressed sections V, VI, I 
and VII as well as the preamble of the working document.