At the request of the National Government, the Argentine House of Representatives approved the Agreement for the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments between the Argentine Republic and the United Arab Emirates, thus concluding the legislative process initiated in the Argentine Senate, where it received preliminary approval in March this year.
The Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) approved by the Argentine Congress and fostered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a third generation agreement that ensures an adequate level of protection for the investments of both countries and includes the most up-to-date principles on the matter, recommended by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Unlike the investment agreements entered into in the 1990s, this BIT establishes a balance in the relationship between States and investors and sets a standard for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to modernize other similar agreements to which Argentina is a party.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs seeks to boost the inflow of capital in a favourable regulatory environment by concluding the negotiation of pending free trade agreements, such as the MERCOSUR-European Union (EU) Strategic Partnership Agreement; promoting Argentina's accession process to the OECD; and supporting the internationalization of the private sector through effective trade promotion actions abroad.
