Workshop on Negotiating Bilateral Investment Treaties: Burkina Faso

For several years, IISD has assisted Burkina Faso in creating an integrated national framework for negotiating BITs that promote socially and environmentally sustainable investments.

As part of the reform efforts, Burkina Faso has adopted a procedural guide for investment treaty negotiations and a national model BIT.

To ensure that these tools are fully utilized, IISD has recommended the establishment of a permanent, cross-cutting National Investment Treaty Negotiation Committee. The negotiation team will be responsible for coordination between the various ministries and agencies involved in the investment treaty negotiation process.

This workshop trained the members of the emerging National Investment Treaty Negotiation Committee—including representatives from Burkina Faso’s ministries responsible for industry, foreign affairs, the economy, and finance—on the country’s new tools for negotiating BITs.

The workshop’s specific objectives were to

• increase the participants' foundational understanding of international investment law;
• heighten the participants' awareness of the complexities involved in negotiating and finalizing investment treaties;
• foster the participants' commitment to embracing Burkina Faso's new investment treaty negotiation system; and
• strengthen a group of experts specializing in BIT negotiations in Burkina Faso.