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.
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, 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 UN 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.
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.
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.
