Invest Qatar CEO urges integrated investment ecosystems amid global changes

Doha, Qatar - Qatar's Investment Promotion Agency, Invest Qatar, is advocating for a more comprehensive approach to investment promotion in light of shifting global dynamics. CEO Sheikh Ali bin Alwaleed Al-Thani made these remarks at the World Investment Forum 2026, emphasizing the need to shift focus from merely attracting capital to creating integrated economic ecosystems.

These ecosystems should foster investment, collaboration, and innovation by strengthening local capabilities, driving technological progress, and promoting sustainable economic growth.

Invest Qatar's CEO noted that investment flows are becoming more concentrated in a few major economies, with capital seeking out locations offering the best conditions. This trend calls for investment promotion agencies and special economic zones to reevaluate their competitiveness, costs, incentives, and market access. Today, investors are scrutinizing a wider range of factors, including talent and technology access, resilient and sustainable infrastructure, regulatory clarity, innovation capabilities, and opportunities to forge effective partnerships with local businesses.

For Qatar, Sheikh Ali stressed that investment promotion should move beyond simply attracting capital to connecting investors with opportunities, partners, and local capabilities. He further stated that these agencies and zones have an opportunity to transcend marketing investment destinations. Instead, they should build integrated economic ecosystems that bolster local competencies, spur technological advancements, and bolster sustainable growth.

Nan Li Collins, director of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's Division on Investment and Enterprise, echoed similar sentiments. She highlighted that geopolitical tensions, supply chain restructuring, and heightened economic security concerns have prompted companies to rethink their investment strategies. Concurrently, AI, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing are generating novel avenues for growth and competitiveness.

Collins stressed that investment promotion agencies and special economic zones must build integrated ecosystems around skilled workforces, technology, dependable and sustainable infrastructure, regulatory certainty, resilient supply chains, and robust links with local businesses. She underscored the fact that competitiveness and sustainability can no longer be treated as separate entities.

Collins added that the newly formed network would serve as a platform for members and partners to exchange knowledge, enhance capacity, champion green investment, and foster model projects that can be adapted and replicated in other regions.

Lastly, Ismail Ersahin, executive director and CEO of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), pointed out that global investment is undergoing a profound transformation driven by geopolitical instability, shifting supply chains, and technological advancements.