OTTAWA, Canada, June 12, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, and Patiendé Arthur Kafando, Burkina Faso’s Minister of Industry, Commerce and Handicrafts, today announced the conclusion of negotiations toward a foreign investment promotion and protection agreement (FIPA) between Canada and Burkina Faso. The announcement was made on the margins of the Conference of Montréal, in the presence of Luc Adolphe Tiao, Prime Minister of Burkina Faso.
A FIPA is a treaty designed to protect Canadian investment abroad and promote foreign investment in Canada through reciprocal, legally binding provisions. By ensuring greater protection against discriminatory and arbitrary practices and by enhancing the predictability of a market’s policy framework, a FIPA gives businesses greater confidence in investing.
Canada is now the biggest foreign investor in Burkina Faso. In its Global Markets Action Plan (GMAP), Canada identified Burkina Faso as an emerging market with specific opportunities for Canadian business in sectors such as mining and industrial machinery and equipment.
Canada-Burkina Faso two-way merchandise trade has averaged $60 million per year over the past three years—compared to $40.7 million per year between 2008 and 2010, an increase of 47.5 percent.
This month, Minister Fast will lead his third trade mission to Africa. The mission will have a special focus on the extractive sector and renewable energy and power—priority sectors identified under the GMAP. Sector-focused trade missions are part of the Government of Canada’s pro-trade plan to support Canadian businesses, especially SMEs, seeking to explore opportunities and penetrate new markets for their products and services.
In Africa, Canada has FIPAs in force with Benin, Egypt and Tanzania and is currently engaged in FIPA negotiations with Ghana, Kenya and Tunisia. Canada currently has 27 FIPAs in force around the world.
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