The Second World Investment Forum (WIF), seeking to offer insights on the balance between investment and sustainable development, opened Tuesday in Xiamen, in southeast China's Fujian Province.

With the theme "Investment for Sustainable Development," the forum is organized by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and has attracted more than 1,500 overseas investors, policymakers and international organization representatives.

"International investment is high on the agenda of global policy-making," United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said in a video message to the forum.

Despite the recovery of worldwide capital flows since the downturn in 2009, Ban said, the recovery remained fragile and the consequences of climate change were "increasingly clear."

"We must work together to advance responsible investment and corporate sustainability," said Ban.

He urged governments and businesses to make investments that better stimulated economic activity while promoting energy efficiency and green technology.

He stressed the critical role of private investment in the spread of environment friendly practices and in reaching the UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Established in 2000, the MDGs are eight development goals to be achieved by 2015. Agreed to by UN member states, the goals include time-bound targets for reducing extreme poverty and child mortality rates, fighting disease epidemics, promoting gender equality, education and environmental sustainability.

The forum participants include World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy and senior officials from many countries.

The high-profile list "demonstrates the importance that international investment has gained as an engine of growth and development," UNCTAD Secretary-General Supachai Panitchpakdi said at the opening ceremony.

The four-day forum would examine the challenges and opportunities for global investment in the post-crisis economy.

He urged "a new generation of investment policies" to promote a transformation towards a low carbon economy.

The forum also features presentations from countries showcasing climate change-related investment projects.

Energy and drilling companies and engineering firms from Iceland will also attend the event to contribute their experience on the use of clean energy.

"The abundance of clean energy is the main reason why Iceland is... an attractive investment location for foreign companies," said Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, President of Iceland.

Iceland had based all its electricity production and space heating on clean energy.

However, Grimsson recalled that before the 1970s, more than 80 percent of energy in Iceland came from imported coal and oil.

"The climate crisis is primarily a call for a fundamental energy revolution, a comprehensive transformation from fossil fuel to green energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, hydro and biomass sources," he said.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony.

The three-day forum will include conferences on the impact of investment on sustainable development; how stock exchanges can promote sustainable business practices; and the need for a recognized set of principles for borrowers and lenders that promotes sustainable debt and credit conditions.

Also included is a ministerial round table that will address investment policy coherence in the post-crisis environment.