(e) any other form of dispute settlement agreed upon by the parties to the dispute.
4. Once a dispute has been submitted to one of the forums for dispute settlement mentioned in paragraph 3 a.-e. the investor shall have no recourse to the other dispute settlement fora listed in paragraph 3 a.-e.
5. An investor may submit a dispute as referred to in paragraph 1 and 2 to arbitration in accordance with paragraph 3 only if not more than three years have elapsed from the date on which the investor first acquired, or should have first acquired, knowledge of the alleged breach and knowledge that the investor has incurred loss or damage.
Article 18. Security Exceptions
Subject to the requirement that such measures are not applied by a Contracting Party in a manner which would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination against investors of the other Contracting Party, or a disguised restriction on investments of investors of the other Contracting Party in the territory of the former Contracting Party, nothing in this Agreement other than Article 15 shall be construed so as to prevent the former Contracting Party from adopting or enforcing measures:
(a) which it considers necessary for the protection of its essential security interests relating to the implementation of national policies or international agreements respecting the non-proliferation of weapons; or
(b) in pursuance of its obligations under the United Nations Charter for the maintenance of international peace and security.
Article 19. Temporary Safeguard Measures
1. A Contracting Party may adopt or maintain measures not conforming with its obligations under Article 3 and Article 15 relating to cross-border capital transactions:
(a) in the event of serious balance-of-payments and external financial difficulties or threat thereof; or
(b) in cases where, in exceptional circumstances, movements of capital cause or threaten to cause serious difficulties for macroeconomic management, in particular, monetary and exchange rate policies.
2. Measures referred to in paragraph 1:
(a) shall be consistent with the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund, so long as the Contracting Party taking the measures is a party to the said Articles
(b) shall not exceed those necessary to deal with the circumstances set out in paragraph 1;
(c) shall be temporary and shall be eliminated as soon as conditions permit;
(d) shall be promptly notified to the other Contracting Party;
(e) shall avoid unnecessary damages to the commercial, economic and financial interests of the other Contracting Party; and
(f) shall not be applied in an arbitrary manner or discriminate between an investor of the other Party and an investor of a non-Party.
3. Nothing in this Agreement shall be regarded as altering the rights enjoyed and obligations undertaken by a Contracting Party as a party to the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund.
Article 20. Prudential Measures
1. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Agreement, a Contracting Party shall not be prevented from taking measures relating to financial services for prudential reasons, including measures for the protection of investors, depositors, policy holders or persons to whom a fiduciary duty is owed by an enterprise supplying financial services, or to ensure the integrity and stability of its financial system.
2. In cases where a Contracting Party takes any measure pursuant to paragraph 1, that does not conform with the obligations of the provisions of this Agreement, that Contracting Party shall not use such measure as a means of avoiding its obligations under this Agreement.
3. Nothing in this Agreement shall be regarded as altering the rights enjoyed and obligations undertaken by a Contracting Party as a party to the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund.
Article 21. Intellectual Property Rights
1. The Contracting Parties shall grant and ensure the adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights, and promote efficiency and transparency in the administration of intellectual property protection system. For this purpose, the Contracting Parties shall promptly consult with each other at the request of either Contracting Party. Depending on the results of the consultation, each Contracting Party shall, in accordance with its applicable laws and regulations, take appropriate measures to remove the factors which are recognised as having adverse effects to the investments of investors of the other Contracting Party.
2. Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the rights and obligations of the Contracting Parties under multilateral agreements in respect of protection of intellectual property rights to which the Contracting Parties are parties.
3. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed so as to oblige either Contracting Party to extend to investors of the other Contracting Party and to their investments treatment accorded to investors of a non-Contracting Party and to their investments by virtue of multilateral agreements in respect of protection of intellectual property rights, to which the former Contracting Party is a party.
Article 22. Taxation
Nothing in this Agreement shall apply to any measure regarding taxation, including measures taken to enforce taxation obligations.
Article 23. Joint Investment Committee
1. The Contracting Parties shall establish a Joint Investment Committee (hereinafter referred to as "the Committee") with a view to accomplishing the objectives of this Agreement. The functions of the Committee shall be:
(a) to discuss and review the implementation and operation of this Agreement and to seek solution for problems relating to this Agreement;
(b) to share information, including that of investment opportunities in the Contracting Parties, and to discuss any other investment-related matters concerning this Agreement, for the purpose of encouraging favourable conditions for investors of the Contracting Parties; and
(c) to arrange investment forums in either Contracting Party to explore investment opportunities.
2. The Committee may, as necessary, make appropriate recommendations by consensus to the Contracting Parties for the more effective functioning or the attainment of the objectives of this Agreement.
3. The Committee shall be composed of representatives of the Contracting Parties. The Committee may, upon mutual consent of the Contracting Parties, invite representatives of relevant entities other than the Governments of the Contracting Parties with the necessary expertise relevant to the issues to be discussed, and hold joint meetings with the private sectors.
4. The Committee shall determine its own rules of procedure to carry out its functions.
5. The Committee may establish sub-committees and delegate specific tasks to such sub-committees.
6. The Committee shall meet upon the request of either Contracting Party.
Article 24. Labour, Health, Safety and Environmental Measures
1. The Parties recognize that it is inappropriate to encourage investment by ignoring domestic labour, health, safety or environmental measures. Accordingly, a Party should not waive or otherwise derogate from, or offer to waive or otherwise derogate from, such measures as an encouragement for the establishment, acquisition, expansion or retention in its territory of an investment of an investor. If a Party considers that the other Party has offered such an encouragement, it may request consultations with the other Party and the two Parties shall consult with a view to avoiding any such encouragement.
2. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent a Contracting Party from adopting, maintaining, or enforcing any measure in a non-discriminatory and non-arbitrary manner that is necessary to ensure the protection of the environment in the Contracting Party.
Article 25. Denial of Benefits
1. A Contracting Party may deny the benefits of this Agreement to an investor of the other Contracting Party that is an enterprise of the other Contracting Party and to its investments if the enterprise is owned or controlled by an investor of a non-Contracting Party and the denying Contracting Party:
(a) does not maintain diplomatic relations with the non-Contracting Party; or
(b) adopts or maintains measures with respect to the non-Contracting Party that prohibit transactions with the enterprise or that would be violated or circumvented if the benefits of this Agreement were accorded to the enterprise or to its investments.
2. A Contracting Party may deny the benefits of this Agreement to an investor who structures or acquires its investment, for instance through intermediary entities, or who acquires or uses a nationality of one of the Contracting Parties with the sole purpose of benefiting from this agreement, including submission of a claim.
3. Subject to prior notification and consultation, a Contracting Party may deny the benefits of this Agreement to an investor of the other Contracting Party that is an enterprise of the other Contracting Party and to its investments if the enterprise is owned or controlled by an investor of a non-Contracting Party and the enterprise has no substantial business activities in the territory of the other Contracting Party.
Article 26. Amendment of the Agreement
This Agreement or any part thereof may be amended by mutual agreement of the Contracting Parties upon the request of either Contracting Party, through Exchange of Letters or Protocols. Such amendments shall enter in force when the Contracting Parties have notified each other that their respective legal requirements for the entry into force have been fulfilled.
Article 27. Final Provisions
1. This Agreement shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the date of exchange of diplomatic notes between the Parties informing each other that their respective legal procedures necessary for the entry into force of this Agreement have been completed. It shall remain in force for a period of ten years after its entry into force and may be renewed to such other period upon mutual agreement of the Parties.
2. A Contracting Party may, by giving one year's advance notice in writing to the other Contracting Party, terminate this Agreement at the end of the initial ten-year period or at any time thereafter.
3. In respect of investments acquired prior to the date of termination of this Agreement, the provisions of this Agreement shall continue to be effective for a period of ten years from the date of termination of this Agreement.
4. This Agreement shall not apply to claims which had been settled before the entry into force of this Agreement and disputes arising out of events which occurred prior to its entry into force.
Conclusion
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, being duly authorised by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.
DONE in duplicate at Abu Dhabi on day of 6/3/2025 in the Arabic, English and French languages. In case of divergence in interpretation, the English text shall prevail.
For the United Arab Emirates
For the Central African Republic