The fifth of a series of political consultations was recently held between Argentina and Pakistan. The agenda of these consultations have involved discussions on widening trade and investment ties and improving cooperation at the international stage.

In this piece, Eduardo Bérèterbide of Bérèterbide Conseils (Paris) and Mehdi Tirmizi of Raza Kazim Associates provide a brief overview of the diplomatic and historical ties between the two countries; the ongoing bilateral political consultations; whether a trade and investment agreement is on the cards; and opportunities such bilateral cooperation presents in sectors such as defense and energy.

Pakistan is a signatory to the ICSID Convention and has also executed several Bilateral Investment Treaties to attract foreign direct investment. These BIT’s usually provide for ICSID arbitration as the dispute resolution mechanism. Pakistan has already been a Respondent in ten ICSID arbitrations, and most recently, two fresh claims were instituted against it by Turkish Investors.

As one of Pakistan’s top priorities is to attract foreign investment, it is likely that additional BITs and/or other investment agreements will follow, giving rise to disputes (either under new agreements or previously ratified ones) where ICSID Arbitration will be resorted to. In this piece, Mehdi Tirmizi
and Ahmad Azhar provide a brief overview of the recent amendments to the ICSID Arbitration Rules and what they mean for States such as Pakistan.

Mehdi Tirmizi, our partner, participated in the Lawyers Polo tournament, playing for the Shawn Coulson Polo Team in Argentina in December 2022.