BIT with Sweden to stay in place

According to The Express Tribune, Pakistan has decided to keep its Bilateral Investment Treaty with Sweden in force after the federal cabinet stepped in. The move reverses an earlier termination notice, which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reportedly disapproved of during a recent cabinet session. The cabinet has ordered an inquiry into who issued the notice and the reasons behind it.

A new committee on Bilateral Investment Treaties will examine the 1981 agreement with Sweden and the approval steps taken before the notice was issued. It will also review the possible outcomes of ending treaties with 25 countries under the 2021 BIT Strategy, and draft guidelines for future notices. The panel is further tasked with preparing a fresh draft BIT policy covering investment protection, most favoured nation criteria, fair and equitable treatment and dispute resolution.

Separately, Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, federal minister for the Board of Investment, met Swedish Ambassador Alexandra Berg von Linde to discuss deeper economic ties. The meeting noted that more than 40 Swedish firms, including Ericsson, IKEA, H&M and Tetra Pak, already operate in Pakistan. Sectors named as promising for Swedish investment include agriculture, mining, information technology, engineering and manufacturing.