Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is one of the five institutions of the World Bank Group, established under a convention adopted in Seoul in 1985 and entering into force in 1988. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and reports to the same Board of Governors as the IBRD, though it has its own membership and capital base. Through its accession to the Bretton Woods system, MIGA also functions within the broader United Nations specialized agency framework via the World Bank's relationship agreement with the UN.

MIGA's core mandate is to promote foreign direct investment (FDI) into developing economies by issuing political risk insurance (called "guarantees") to private investors and lenders. Covered risks typically include:

• Currency inconvertibility and transfer restriction
• Expropriation and similar government interference with property
• War, terrorism, and civil disturbance
• Breach of contract by the host government
• Non-honoring of sovereign or sub-sovereign financial obligations

By absorbing risks that commercial insurers are often unwilling or unable to cover, MIGA aims to mobilize capital toward projects in fragile and conflict-affected states, infrastructure, climate finance, and small economies that would otherwise be perceived as too risky. The agency also offers dispute mediation services between investors and host governments, frequently helping resolve issues before a guarantee claim is paid.

Membership is open to World Bank members and Switzerland; the agency has grown to include the large majority of UN member states. Its convention requires that host countries consent to each guaranteed investment, preserving sovereign control over which projects benefit from coverage. MIGA is governed by a Council of Governors, a Board of Directors, and a President (traditionally the President of the World Bank), with day-to-day operations led by an Executive Vice President.

For MUN delegates, MIGA is relevant in committees addressing FDI, development finance, sustainable infrastructure, and investor-state relations, particularly where political risk is a barrier to capital flows.