Senate ratifies Kazakhstan-Qatar agreement on mutual protection of investments
The Senate of the Kazakh Parliament has approved today the bill “On ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the State of Qatar on mutual encouragement and protection of investments,” Kazinform News Agency reports.
According to senator Andrey Lukin, who presented the document, the two countries’ national companies and private sectors have established constructive ties to date, with promising projects worth 1.356 billion US dollars being developed in various sectors of economy.
In October 2022, in Astana, Kazakhstan and Qatar entered into a governmental agreement to protect and support both countries’ investors. The agreement also aims at boosting the economic cooperation by creating favorable conditions for investment activity, the senator said.
The document was developed based on standard provisions of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), principles of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Bank’s recommendations.
Meanwhile, the framework document aims at strengthening the mutual international and legal guarantees of the investors’ rights during their investment activity in the two countries’ territories.
The agreement ensures protection from forced expropriation by ensuring payment of compensation, access to international arbitration and fair and equal treatment of countries towards foreign investments.
The document also regulates the order of the parties’ interaction, making payments and transfers, including setting restrictions on them, the order of regulation of disputes between the party and investor of other party.
The adoption of the law will let improve the investment climate and promote further development of mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation between the countries.