Africa: according to the latest forecasts from UNCSD (United Nations Conference on Sustainable Trade and Development), direct foreign investment in Africa is expected to show a steep fall from USD 17 billion in 2001 to USD 6 billion this year, a decrease of two thirds. The UNCSD also forecasts that the competition between the countries to attract investment, will become very sharp, especially via "business meetings". According to experts, three factors explain this disaffection: the economic slowdown in the countries where the main investors in Africa have their Head Quarters, such as the USA and the geopolitical uncertainty reigning in African in certain African countries, as well as an, "inertia that has set in, in quite a few companies in developed countries due to the way business matters are managed in Africa."