The 2013 World Investment Report comes at an important moment. The international community is making a final push to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by the target date of 2015. At the same time, the United Nations is working to forge a vision for the post-2015 development agenda. Credible and objective information on foreign direct investment (FDI) can contribute to success in these twin endeavours.

Global FDI declined in 2012, mainly due to continued macroeconomic fragility and policy uncertainty for investors, and it is forecast to rise only moderately over the next two years.

Yet as this report reveals, the global picture masks a number of major dynamic developments. In 2012 – for the first time ever – developing economies absorbed more FDI than developed countries, with four developing economies ranked among the five largest recipients in the world. Developing countries also generated almost one third of global FDI outflows, continuing an upward trend that looks set to continue.

This year’s World Investment Report provides an in-depth analysis, strategic development options and practical advice for policymakers and others on how to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks associated with global value chains. This is essential to ensure more inclusive growth and sustainable development.