Middle East

States from the Middle East have concluded about 600 investment deals. 44 ISDS cases have been brought against Middle Eastern countries, while investors from the region have initiated 44 cases as well.

In 2013, Al-Kharafi & Sons Co., investors from Kuwait, were awarded US$935 million under the Unified Agreement for the Investment of Arab Capital in the Arab States, in a dispute over a land-leasing contract for a tourism project in Libya, making it one of the largest known awards to date. They had only invested about US$5 million but the arbitration tribunal decided that Libya also had to compensate for profits that would have been made during the 90-year leasing contract and were now lost.

Photo: President of Azerbaijan / CC BY 4.0

(April 2020)

HETQ | 18-Nov-2019
Roads to the Amulsar gold mine have been closed for a year and a half by residents of neighboring communities opposed to the mine operated by Lydian who is considering international arbitration.
MENAFN | 7-Nov-2019
ICSID dismisses lawsuit filed by Egyptian company.
Business Recorder | 5-Nov-2019
The Karkey dispute between the government and a Turkish ship-based energy firm has finally been resolved due to efforts of Turkish government, Prime Minister Imran Khan said.
Ahval | 4-Nov-2019
Ankara is in conflict with an international investment tribunal after a Turkish court has rejected a demand to halt criminal proceedings regarding a Turkish media tycoon and his family.
Express Tribune | 21-Oct-2019
International institutions, through high-level backdoor contacts, have agreed to waive off the $1.2 billion penalty Pakistan has to pay to Turkey’s Karkey, senior lawyer Babar Awan said.
Business Recorder | 27-Sep-2019
Pakistan has paid over $100 million to Turkish rental power company Karkey as a penalty out of $800 million, Senator Sherry Rehman has said.
CADTM | 24-Sep-2019
The signing of an investment treaty involves a unilateral loss of sovereignty on the part of the host state, which is ultimately deemed necessary to attract foreign capital.
Mining | 27-Aug-2019
Lydian International’s Amulsar gold project in Armenia may have to go through a fourth environmental review in less than a year.
Reuters | 22-Aug-2019
Lydian had threatened to go to arbitration if forced to shut it down.