India, Sudan ratify investment promotion agreement

NEW DELHI - India and Sudan Monday ratified a bilateral investment promotion and protection agreement, which was signed seven years ago to strengthen economic relations.

Govind Mohan, joint secretary (infrastructure and investment) in the finance ministry, and Sudanese Ambassador to India Khidir Haroun Ahmed signed the instruments of ratification here.

India has so far signed bilateral investment promotion and protection agreement (BIPA) with 79 countries. Of these, 69 have already come into effect.

The BIPA seeks to promote and protect investments from one country in the other. It facilitates bilateral investment flows and grant benefits of national treatment and most favoured nation.

BIPA between India and Sudan was signed Oct 22, 2003 in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

The agreement requires both the countries to encourage and create favourable conditions for investors of each other to make investments in their territories and admit investments in accordance with their laws, said an official statement.

Investments from either country in the territory of the other country are to be accorded national treatment and most favoured nation treatment implying that the investment shall be provided a treatment which is not less favourable than that provided by the home country to investments of its own investors or investors from any other country.