International investment is one of the key drivers of economic growth in today’s world economy. Thus, creating favourable investment conditions is imperative for any state willing to maintain its competitiveness in attracting international investment capital required for sustainable economic growth. In this regard, the harmonization of investment and regulatory environments is one of the pressing issues facing many countries around the world.

Addressing this issue is a collective task to be undertaken by leading economies, international organizations and informal global governance institutions, such as the Group of 20 (G20) or BRICS group of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The contribution of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to harmonizing international investment regimes is significant and includes such documents as the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises, the Code of Liberalisation of Capital Movements, the Code of Liberalisation of Current Invisible Operations, G20/OECD High-Level Principles of Long-Term Investment Financing, and the Policy Framework for Investment (PFI). The PFI has become the most comprehensive and exhaustive compendium of investment policy best practices.

This article analyzes the evolution of the PFI and the negotiation processes behind it to compare its content with analogous international documents dealing with investment policy and regulation across all 12 issue areas covered by the PFI, as well as to assess the international business community’s corresponding positions and contributions. It also addresses the OECD-G20 cooperation in formulating the future agenda for investment policy among the leading economies. The selected approach allows for a determination of the PFI’s role in shaping the potential set of universal investment policy principles and concrete rules.