Agreement will protect Canadian business and provide new opportunities for them to invest and grow
April 20, 2015 - Ottawa, Ontario - Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, today announced that Canada and Burkina Faso have signed a foreign investment promotion and protection agreement (FIPA). He made the announcement alongside Hippolyte Dah, Burkina Faso’s Minister of Industry, Commerce and Handicrafts. The Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, Yacouba Isaac Zida, is in Ottawa for a bilateral visit.
FIPAs help ensure fair treatment for investors and create a more predictable and transparent business environment through reciprocal, legally binding provisions. FIPAs set out clear rules governing investment relations, including in the areas of dispute resolution and protection against discriminatory and arbitrary practices, giving businesses greater confidence to invest.
Canada’s Global Markets Action Plan, the government’s blueprint for jobs and economic growth through trade, identifies Burkina Faso as an emerging market with specific opportunities for Canadian business in sectors such as mining and industrial machinery and equipment. Canada is the largest foreign investor in Burkina Faso.
Now that this agreement has been signed, Canada and Burkina Faso will proceed with their respective ratification processes.
Max Moncaster
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Ed Fast
Minister of International Trade
343-203-7332
Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
343-203-7700
media@international.gc.ca
Follow us on Twitter: @CanadaTrade
Like us on Facebook: Canada’s International Trade Plan-DFATD
