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Venezuela, Lebanon & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (7 July 2026) | United Nations

Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. Highlights: - Secretary-General Travel - World Investment Report 2026 - Venezuela - Lebanon - Occupied Palestinian Territory - Sudan - Central African Republic - State of the Climate in the South-West Pacific - Kiswahili Language Day - Briefings WORLD INVESTMENT REPORT 2026 The World Investment Report 2026, today released by the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), shows that global foreign direct investment rose 6 per cent to $1.6 trillion in 2025, ending two years of decline, but the recovery remains narrow, fragile and uneven. The report notes that inflows to developed economies rose 11 per cent, while developing economies recorded only 2 per cent growth, reaching $901 billion. According to UNCTAD, the world's top 20 host economies attracted more than 80 per cent of global foreign direct investment in 2025, underscoring a trend that runs throughout the report: investment is becoming more concentrated across countries, sectors and projects. VENEZUELA The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, is arriving today in Venezuela on a four-day visit to meet with survivors and front-line responders after the devastating earthquakes nearly two weeks ago. Mr. Fletcher will also meet senior government officials and those supporting the search and rescue effort. Tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. New York time, Mr. Fletcher will speak, from Caracas, at a virtual ministerial-level Member States’ briefing about the humanitarian response so far and what comes next. And I was asked yesterday about assessments going on in Venezuela. Our colleagues in OCHA are referring to rapid assessments of people's immediate humanitarian needs, a process which includes humanitarian partners, field visits and surveys with affected people. These are not the overall damage and recovery assessments, which normally include development partners and international Financial Institutions. OCHA also wants to clarify the current status of humanitarian funding in Venezuela which, as you know, had a response plan in place prior to the earthquakes. Before the earthquakes, the $632 million Humanitarian Response Plan for Venezuela this year had received around $115 million. Since then, total reported funding for that plan has increased to $300 million, and we expect to hear more about the appeal in tomorrow morning's Member States’ briefing. Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-07-07