05 October,2026 01:40 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. File Picture.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the government's new framework for bilateral investment treaties is soon expected to get the Cabinet approval, reported news agency PTI.
The new framework aims to provide greater protection to investors from both sides, while addressing the shortcomings in the model approved in 2016, she said adding that the template is being formulated over the last one-and-a-half years.
The 2016 model bilateral investment treaty had become the basis for India's subsequent investment treaty negotiations after replacing an earlier framework.
However, Sitharaman said India has pushed with negotiations on investment protection agreements even as the new template is being finalised.
She said India's latest agreement with Saudi Arabia goes beyond the 2016 framework and incorporates elements that are more sharply focused on protecting the interests of investors from both countries, and added, similarly, India has also concluded agreements with the UAE, Oman and some Central Asian countries.
"We have a new template which will be approved shortly. But in the meanwhile, we've not halted the process. We are negotiating with countries with a lot more of those elements which are in the new template," she said.
The minister said India is currently negotiating with several countries, including Canada and Russia, on bilateral investment protection agreements.
"If things go well, by December we should be concluding agreements with at least three more countries," she said.
She added that negotiations with Canada could be concluded by December or early next year if they progress as expected.
A bilateral investment treaty is an agreement between two countries to promote and protect investments made by their investors in the other's territory. Under investment protection treaties, investors can take a sovereign government to arbitration, as per PTI.
Under the present framework, a foreign investor has to wait for five years before initiating a treaty-based arbitration against India. Which means, if a dispute arises, the foreign investor should first pursue domestic remedies for five years before bringing a claim under the agreement.
In the last few years, there has been growing demand to lower this five-year period.
Besides, with Outward Direct Investment (ODI) from India increasing, there is a need to ensure that domestic investors and companies investing abroad also get adequate protection.
Sitharaman said the earlier framework does not adequately serve India's interests and therefore a new template is being formulated.
(With inputs from PTI)
