WIR
Dear Members of the WIN,
It is my pleasure to share with you UNCTAD's IIA Issues Note entitled:
"International investment policymaking in transition: challenges and
opportunities of treaty renewal".
Today, the international investment regime consists of over 3,200
treaties. This includes more than 2,860 bilateral investment treaties and
over 340 "other" international investment agreements (e.g. free trade
agreements, economic partnership agreements or framework agreements with
an investment dimension).
At the same time, the international investment regime poses a series of
systemic, capacity and development challenges. Countries are taking
actions to address these challenges, such as clarifying the meaning of
treaty provisions, replacing older treaties with new ones, and revising or
terminating them. Treaty expiration provides opportunities for such
actions.
According to UNCTAD’s analysis, by the end of 2013, more than 1,300
bilateral investment treaties will be at the stage where they could be
terminated or renegotiated at any time. These account for 45 percent of
the bilateral investment treaties in existence today. Furthermore,
between 2014 and 2018, at least 350 BITs will reach the end of their
initial duration.
Treaty expiration in large numbers makes it possible to address
inconsistencies and overlaps in the multi-faceted and multi-layered
investment regime, and to update it in light of a development paradigm
shift. In taking such actions, countries need to weigh up the pros and
cons in view of their investment climate (and foreign investors’
perception of it), their own investors abroad, and their overall
development strategies.
* **
An analysis of overall investment policy developments, both at the
national and international levels, will be available in UNCTAD's 2013
World Investment Report (WIR), to be launched globally on 26th June. The
report will also present recent global and regional investment trends. The
theme of the report is global value chains: investment and trade for
development.
James Zhan
Director
Investment & Enterprise Division
United Nations Conference on Trade & Development
Palais des Nations, Geneva
Tel: +41 22 9175797
www.unctad.org/diae
www.unctad.org/wir (World Investment Reports)
