Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan Update Investment Protection Agreement

Kazakhstan’s Parliament has ratified a new agreement with Kyrgyzstan on the mutual promotion and protection of investments, Orda.kz reports.

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Alibek Kuantyrov presented the updated agreement, which was signed in Astana on April 19, 2024. The previous investment protection treaty between the two countries had been in place since 1997.

The updated version was proposed by the Kyrgyz side following changes to their executive government structure in 2021. After nearly 30 years, the old agreement needed to be revised,Kuantyrov explained. 

He noted that the new agreement ensures legal safeguards for investors, offering more transparent and predictable conditions for investment activities. Key provisions include protection against expropriation, fair and equitable treatment of foreign investments, and the right to access international arbitration.

Kazakhstan currently has 51 bilateral agreements on investment protection, with 46 of them already in force.

As Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov recently highlighted, Kazakhstan has attracted $130 billion in foreign direct investment over the past six years, $72.7 billion of which went to the manufacturing sector.

Original Author: Anastasia Prilepskaya