Workshop for member countries of the Organization of the Islamic Conference to review key issues in investment agreements and dispute settlement procedures
Officials from 25 countries belonging to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) will participate in an UNCTAD intensive training session in Amman, Jordan from 22-31 October, intended to train participants on international investment agreements (IIAs) and aimed at helping these countries to attract and benefit from foreign direct investment (FDI) through a predictable and stable legal framework.
Jordan´s Minister of Industry and Trade, Salem Khazaleh, will join representatives of the UNCTAD, the Islamic Development Bank, the Jordan Investment Board, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in opening the session.
IIAs -- agreements between countries that set the terms for foreign investment -- have grown more numerous and complex in recent years. Some 2,600 bilateral IIAs had been concluded by the end of 2006. The expansion of IIAs to include a broader range of topics and issues and the growing number of cases brought under IIA dispute-settlement mechanisms has left developing countries struggling on occasion to keep up to date on the nature of such agreements and on the international rules that govern them. They also are frequently in need of training on how to negotiate IIAs so that the agreements support national development plans, and on how to cope with the complexities of dispute settlement regimes.
The Amman workshop will be UNCTAD´s 19th regional training session on IIAs, the first to be staged specifically for member countries of the OIC. The gathering is the result of cooperation between the UNCTAD Work Programme in International Investment Agreements and the Islamic Development Bank´s Investment Promotion Technical Assistance Program. Local support is being provided by the Jordan Investment Board and the United Nations representation in Jordan. The Islamic Development Bank is financing the training session.
IIAs serve the purpose of establishing clear rules that aim to encourage flows of FDI that can contribute to economic growth. FDI brings not only capital to a host country, but also such benefits as technology, management know how, and access to new markets. Most developing countries and countries with economies in transition are establishing national legal and policy frameworks aimed at reducing obstacles to FDI or benefiting more from it; and are participating actively in IIAs at the bilateral, regional and interregional levels.
The Amman training session will include presentations by negotiators of IIAs, specialists from international organizations, academics, and IIA practitioners. General areas to be covered during the 10-day training course are key issues relevant to the analysis and negotiation of IIAs; the impact of recent dispute-settlement cases; dispute-settlement mechanisms; and arbitration procedures. There also will be the simulated negotiation of a comprehensive investment arrangement.
In addition, the session on Sunday 28th October on how to conduct an investment arbitration case will be opened to a broader audience, including government officials and lawyers in Jordan who defend the State against investment claims. This will provide an opportunity for them to hear from leading investment arbitration experts and for those attending to share their experiences.
Participants at the workshop will come from the following 25 countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, Uganda and the Union of Comoros.
