WAIPA (World Association of Investment PromotionAgencies) annual meeting and 2018 World Investment Conference (WIC2018) hostedby XMFSC Center (XMFSC) were successfully held in Xiamen InternationalConference Center from September 6 to 9, 2018. This is the first time thatWAIPA has held an annual meeting in China. Xiamen, a post BRICs City, hasbecome the venue of this annual conference because of its professional andmodern international exhibition city temperament.

In early May, XMFSC was entrusted by XiamenMunicipal Convention and ExhibitionBureau to set up WAIPAconference service group, which closely contacted the WAIPA secretariat in Istanbul,Turkey, and started the preparatory work. Both parties jointly planed andformulated the meeting affairs implementation plan, venue design plan andagenda arrangement. XMFSC steadily promoted various conference services,including venue construction and layout, production of conference materials,production of participants' certificates, conference registration andconsultation, simultaneous interpretation at the conference site, hotel andbanquet arrangements, etc.

Nearly 300 Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs),Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy and strategy related governmentofficials, development sector leaders, business representative, experts andscholars from 51 countries and regions, including Europe, the United States,Asia, Africa and Latin America, gathered in Xiamen to open a forum to discussthe current situation, development trend and investment promotion measures. Atthis conference, WAIPA also signed a letter of intent with the InternationalTrade Center and a memorandum of understanding with the World Bank Group, theInternational Solar Energy Agency and the Indian Investment Bank. XMFSCparticipated in WAIPA training course, internal mechanism meeting andconference services of WIC.

During the conference, WAIPA's important guestsattended the opening ceremony and International Investment Forum of the 20thChina International Investment and Trade Fair, and held bilateral talks andother activities with senior officials of the Ministry of Commerce and CCPIT.CCTV's Finance and Economics Channel, Xiamen Daily, Xiamen Satellite TV andother media interviewed key WAIPA officials, including Mr. Bostjan SKALAR --chief executive officer of WAIPA, vice president of African Development Bankand economist of OECD.

The WAIPA conference lasted for three days, but thepreparatory work before the conference lasted for months. It is highlyprofessional and its working language is English. Based on the advantages offoreign language translation and foreign concierge service, XMFSC strengthens internaltraining and improves its international conference service ability. It hadbuilt a professional all English working team for WAIPA conference to ensurethe success of the conference, showing Xiamen's good international conferenceservice level.

The conference services of WAIPA World InvestmentConference demonstrated the service concept of XMFSC "service,quality". With high-quality conference services, the work of XMFSCconference service group has won high praise from WAIPA Secretariat and widerecognition of foreign guests. WAIPA Secretariat sent a special letter to XMFSCfor its excellent international conference services.

WAIPA (World Association of Investment PromotionAgencies)

The World Association of Investment PromotionAgencies (WAIPA) is a non-governmental and non-profit organization,headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. On April 26-27, 1995, the foundingconference of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development as theInvestment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) was held under the sponsorship of theUnited Nations Conference on Trade and Development. The association is anon-governmental and non-profit organization with its headquarters in Geneva,Switzerland. It serves as a forum for investment promotion agencies to providenetworking opportunities and enhance the exchange of experience in investmentpromotion. The World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies is open toall institutions whose main function is to promote national or regionalinvestment. There are 228 member institutions from 156 countries.

The Advisory Committee of WAIPA consists of thefollowing international governmental and non-governmental organizations:

FIAS of the World Bank Group;

MIGA of the World Bank Group;

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD);

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(UNCTAD);

United Nations Industrial Development Organization(UNIDO).