The 10th edition Annual Investment Meeting of United Arab Emirates is set to be held from 24-26 March 2020 in Dubai, announced the country’s Ministry of Economy. Government leaders and officials, entrepreneurs, economic experts and global investors from over 140 countries are expected to attend the event.

This year’s theme is “Investing for the Future: Shaping the Global Investment Strategies”. The event will be held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

In an official statement, the ministry said that the event will focus on traverse the shifting investment landscape at the global scale and assist world economies to attract investment.

Apart from the flagship pillar of Foreign Direct Investment and inclusive economic growth, the event will focus on four more pillars in its 10th edition- Small and Medium Enterprises, Foreign Portfolio Investment, Startups, and Future Cities.

Under FDI, the event will link municipalities, cities and countries with quality FDIs that match the necessary condition of their market and their existing infrastructure. It will also unfold recent trends and foreseeable movement of FDIs to assist both governments and investors in gauging and reformulating their next plan.

AIM 2020 will also hold the second agenda of One Belt, One Road.

OBOR will present investment opportunities across continents involving regional collaboration to modernize China’s ancient Silk Road trade route. Belt and Road Initiative spans across 70 countries with $1 trillion investment requirement and has been hailed as the most ambitious infrastructure initiative aimed at improving physical, trade, economic and digital connectivity across various sectors. AIM launched this exclusive side event last year and saw the participation of 200 project owners and investors from GCC.

HE Abdullah Al Saleh, the UAE Ministry of Economy’s Undersecretary for Foreign Trade Affairs, said, “Attracting investments does not only link its spillovers to the local economy. It enables inclusive growth providing long-term benefits to host countries in terms of job creation, enhancement of skill base, transfer of technology and increase in competitiveness. With the addition of new pillars, AIM can exert stronger influence to achieve wider economic prosperity and improve domestic economic imperfections.”

Read: The Way Out for a World Economy Hooked On Debt? More Debt

AIM 2020 will also work toward narrowing the credit gap to benefit SMEs by providing a global platform to promote their products and services to genuine investors. While world economies are fuelled by SMEs which represent 90% of business and 50% of employment worldwide, 65 million SMEs in developing countries have to endure unmet financing need of $5.2 trillion every year, according to the International Finance Corporation (IFC). SMEs that are recognized for integrating sustainable investing in their operations will gain distinct focus among impact investors anticipated at AIM. Impact or sustainable investing have gained popularity among investors who are keen in financing companies and organizations that address social and environmental concerns.

The rise of the global population of ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs), which is anticipated to increase by 22% over the next five years, will further boost the flow of foreign portfolio investments. AIM networking function dedicated to foreign portfolio investment will drive discussion between companies with tradable assets and wealth managers who are eager to capture market opportunities that ensure real returns. According to International Monetary Fund data, top destinations for foreign portfolio investment are Turkey, Germany, Czech Republic, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Poland, Luxembourg, United States and the Republic of North Macedonia.

AIM 2020 will continue to support startups with expanded networking opportunities and focused discussions including mentoring sessions. A series of National Pitch Competitions will be held in 80 countries where top winners will be hosted in Dubai to compete in the Final AIM 2020 Startup Competition with cash awards amounting to USD50,000. Previously a co-located event, Startup, now an AIM pillar, will take a prominent position at AIM 2020 to further build on growing interest in funding which has reached $407 billion 2018, an increase of 23.3% from 2017. The top sectors for funding were software and SaaS, fintech, medtech, media and entertainment, health and wellness which represented 52.7% of total disclosed funding.

Funding remains the biggest challenge in implementing smart city solutions. AIM 2020 will seek to bridge the funding gap through its Future Cities pillar, aimed at linking project owners with legitimate investors. Future Cities will not only showcase projects, but assist project owners derive inspiration from success stories built on having successfully created close relationships with private partners.