KARACHI: The Pakistan-Canada Bilateral Promotion and Protection Agreement (PCBPPA) is now close to being sealed, with the Canadian government sending a draft of the proposed agreement to the federal government for its feedback; it has been learned from reliable sources.
The Federal Board of Investment has recently issued a letter accompanied by the text of the draft agreement to the chief secretaries of Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtoonkhawa. Copies of the draft of the trade agreement have also been issued to the finance and industries department of the provincial government and Sindh Board of Investment (SBoI) for their opinions of the text.
During meetings held under the auspices of the Pakistan and Canada Joint Working Group (JWP), it was decided to field a trade agreement conducive to the interests of both countries. Preliminary analysis of the draft agreement reveals that both countries are to cultivate a favourable environment for investment in its territory and shall facilitate investors in accordance with the agreement.
Each party shall agree to the accord favoured treatment to investments in accordance with the international law and ensure fair and equitable treatment along with full protection and security to both property and life, sources revealed.
According to sources, each party shall accord non-partisan treatment in the context of the compensation of losses suffered by investors arising from armed conflict. In addition, enterprises must have absolute freedom to appoint individuals of any particular nationality to senior management positions.
Moreover, the draft agreement also outlines performance requirements, transparency levels, subrogation, taxation measures, denial of benefits, settlement of disputes, receipts under insurance and contract guarantee. Sources indicated that paperwork on the bilateral agreement had been completed by the federal authorities and it was expected that the agreement would be signed shortly.
