Title

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKSTAN, ON THE ONE HAND AND THE BELGO-LUXEMBURG ECONOMIC UNION, ON THE OTHER HAND ON THE RECIPROCAL PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF INVESTMENTS

Preamble

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKSTAN, on the one hand,

And

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM,

Acting both in its own name and in the name of the Government of the Grand-Duchy of Luxemburg,

By virtue of existing agreements, the Walloon Government,

The Flemish Government,

And the Government of the Region of Brussels-Capital, on the other hand

(hereinafter referred to as "the Contracting Parties"),

DESIRING to strengthen their economic cooperation by creating favourable conditions for investments by nationals of one Contracting Party in the territory of the other Contracting Party,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Body

Article 1. Definitions

For the purpose of this Agreement,

1. The term "investors" shall mean

a) The "nationals", i.e. any natural person who, according to the legislation of the Kingdom of Belgium, of the Grand-Duchy of Luxemburg or of the Republic of Kazakstan, is considered as a citizen of the Kingdom of Belgium, of the Grand-Duchy of Luxemburg or of the Republic of Kazakstan respectively;

b) The "companies", i.e. any legal person constituted in accordance with the legislation of the Kingdom of Belgium, of the Grand-Duchy of Luxemburg or of the Republic of Kazakstan and having its registered office in the territory of the Kingdom of Belgium, of the Grand-Duchy of Luxemburg or of the Republic of Kazakstan respectively.

2. The term "investments" shall mean any kind of assets and any contribution in cash, in kind or in services, invested or reinvested in any sector of economic activity.

The following shall more particularly, though not exclusively, be considered as investments for the purpose of this Agreement:

a) Movable and immovable property as well as any other rights, such as mortgages, liens, pledges, usufruct and similar rights;

b) Shares, corporate rights and any other kind of shareholdings, in companies constituted in the territory of one Contracting Party;

c) Bonds, claims to money and to any performance having an economic value;

d) Copyrights, industrial property rights, technical processes, trade names and good will;

e) 'concessions granted under public law or under contract, including concessions to explore, develop, extract or exploit natural resources.

The term "investments" shall also refer to the indirect investments made by the investors of one Contracting Party within the territory of the other Contracting Party trough an entity incorporated in another State and on which the investors of the first Contracting Party exercise a decisive control.

Changes in the legal form in which assets and capital have been invested or reinvested shall not affect their designation as "investments" for the purpose of this Agreement.

3. The term "incomes" shall mean the proceeds of an investment and shall include in particular, though not exclusively, profits, interests, capital increases, dividends, royalties and payments.

The term "territory" shall apply to the territory of the Kingdom of Belgium, to the territory of the GrandDuchy of Luxemburg and to the territory of the Republic of Kazakstan, as well as to the maritime areas, i.e. the marine and underwater areas which extend beyond the territorial waters, of the States concerned and upon which the latter exercise, in accordance with international law, their sovereign rights and their jurisdiction for the purpose of exploring, exploiting and preserving natural resources.

Article 2. Promotion of Investments

Each Contracting Party shall promote investments in its territory by investors of the other Contracting Party and shall accept such investments in accordance with its legislation.

In particular, each Contracting Party shall authorize the conclusion and the fulfilment of licence contracts • and commercial, administrative or technical assistance agreements, as far as these activities are in connection with such investments.

Article 3. Protection of Investments

All investments, whether direct or indirect, made by investors of one Contracting Party shall enjoy a fair and equitable treatment in the territory of the other Contracting Party.

Each Contracting Party undertakes to ensure at all times that the commitments it has entered into vis-a-vis investors of the other Contracting Party shall be observed.

Except for measures required to maintain public order, such investments shall enjoy continuous protection and security, i.e. excluding any unjustified or discriminatory measure which could hinder, either in law or in practice, the management, maintenance, use, possession or liquidation thereof.

The treatment and protection referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall at least be equal to those enjoyed by investors of a third State and shall in no case be less favourable than those recognized under international law.

However, such treatment and protection shall not cover the privileges granted by one Contracting Party to the investors of a third State pursuant to its participation in or association with a free trade zone, a customs union, a common market or any other form of regional economic organization.

Article 4. Deprivation and Limitation of Ownership

1. Each Contracting Party undertakes not to adopt any measure of expropriation or nationalization or any other measure having the effect of directly or indirectly dispossessing the investors of the other Contracting Party of their investments in its territory.

2. If reasons of public purpose, security or national interest require a derogation from the provisions of paragraph 1, the following conditions shall be complied with:

a) The measures shall be taken under due process of law;

b) The measures shall be neither discriminatory, nor contrary to any specific commitments;

c) The measures shall be accompanied by provisions for the payment of a adequate and effective compensation.

3. Such compensation shall amount to the actual value of the investments on the day before the measures were taken or became public.

Such compensation shall be paid in the currency of the State of which the investor is a national or in any other convertible currency. It shall be paid without delay and shall be freely transferable. It shall bear interest at the normal commercial rate from the date of the determination of its amount until the date of its payment.

4. Investors of one Contracting Party whose investments suffer losses owing to war or other armed conflict, revolution, a state of national emergency or revolt in the territory of the other Contracting Party shall be granted by the latter Contracting Party a treatment, as regards restitution, indemnification, compensation or other settlement, at least equal to that which the latter Contracting Party grants to the investors of the most favoured nation.

5. In respect of matters dealt with in this Article, each Contracting Party shall grant to the investors of the other Contracting Party a treatment which shall at least be equal to that granted in its territory to the investors of the most favoured nation. This treatment shall in no case be less favourable than that recognized under international law.

Article 5. Transfers

Each Contracting Party shall grant to investors of the other Contracting Party the free transfer in and out its territory of all payments relating to an investment, in accordance with its legislation, including more particularly:

a) Amounts necessary for establishing, maintaining or expanding the investment;

b) Amounts necessary for payments under a contract, including amounts necessary for repayment of loans, royalties and other payments resulting from licences, franchises, concessions and other similar rights, as well as salaries of expatriate personnel;

c) Proceeds from investments;

d) Proceeds from the total or partial liquidation of investments, including capital gains or increases in the invested capital;

e) Compensation paid pursuant to Article 4.

The nationals of each Contracting Party who have been authorized to work in the territory of the other Contracting Party in connection with an investment shall also be permitted to transfer an appropriate portion of their earnings to their country of origin.

Transfers shall be made in a freely convertible currency at the rate applicable on the day transfers are made on the spot transactions in the currency used.

Each Contracting Party shall issue the authorizations required to ensure that the transfers can be made without undue delay, with no other expenses than the usual taxes and costs.

The guarantees referred to in this Article shall at least be equal to those granted to the investors of the most favoured nation.

Article 6. Subrogation

If one Contracting Party or any public institution of this Contracting Party pays compensation to its own investors pursuant to a guarantee providing coverage for an investment, the other Contracting Party shall recognize that the former Contracting Party or the public institution concerned is subrogated into the rights of the investors.

2. As far as the transferred rights are concerned, the other Contracting Party shall be entitled to invoke against the insurer who is subrogated into the rights of the indemnified investors the obligations of the latter under law or contract.

Article 7. Applicable Regulations

If an issue relating to investments is covered both by this Agreement and by the national legislation of one Contracting Party or by international conventions, existing or to be subscribed to by the Contracting Parties in the future, the investors of the other Contracting Party shall be entitled to avail themselves of the provisions that are the most favourable to them.

Article 8. Most Favoured Nation

In all matters relating to the treatment of investments the investors of each Contracting Party shall enjoy most-favoured-nation treatment in the territory of the other Contracting Party.

Article 9. Specific Agreements

Investments made pursuant to a specific agreement concluded between one Contracting Party and investors of the other Contracting Party shall be covered by the provisions of this Agreement and by those of the specific agreement.

Specific agreement means an agreement between a Contracting Party and an investor of the other Contracting Party concerning a concrete investment in the territory of the former Contracting Party.

Article 10. Settlement of Investment Disputes

Any investment dispute between an investor of one Contracting Party and the other Contracting Party shall be notified in writing by the first party to take action. The notification shall be accompanied by a sufficiently detailed memorandum.

As far as possible, the parties shall endeavour to settle the dispute through negotiations, if necessary by seeking expert advice from a third party, or by conciliation between the Contracting Parties through diplomatic channels.

In the absence of an amicable settlement by direct agreement between the parties to the dispute or by conciliation through diplomatic channels within six months from the notification, the dispute shall be submitted, at the option of the investor, either to the competent jurisdiction of the State where the investment was made, or to international arbitration.

To this end, each Contracting Party agrees in advance and irrevocably to the settlement of any dispute by this type of arbitration. Such consent implies that both Parties waive the right to demand that all domestic administrative or judiciary remedies be exhausted.

In case of international arbitration, the dispute shall be submitted for settlement by arbitration to one of the hereinafter mentioned organizations, at the option of the investor:

An ad hoc arbitral tribunal set up according to the arbitration rules laid down by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (U.N.C.I.T.R.A.L.);

Article 11. Disputes between the Contracting Parties Relating to the Interpretation or Application of this Agreement

Any dispute relating to the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall be settled as far as possible through diplomatic channels.

In the absence of a settlement through diplomatic channels, the dispute shall be submitted to a joint commission consisting of representatives of the two Parties; this commission shall convene without undue delay at the request of the first party to take action.

If the joint commission cannot settle the dispute, the latter shall be submitted, at the request of either Contracting Party, to an arbitration court set up as follows for each individual case:

Each Contracting Party shall appoint one arbitrator within a period of two months from the date on which either Contracting Party has informed the other Party of its intention to submit the dispute to arbitration. Within a period of two months following their appointment, these two arbitrators shall appoint by mutual agreement a national of a third State as chairman of the arbitration court.

If these time limits have not been complied with, either Contracting Party shall request the President of the International Court of Justice to make the necessary appointment(s).

If the President of the International Court of Justice is a national of either Contracting Party or of a State with which one of the Contracting Parties has no diplomatic relations or if, for any other reason, he cannot exercise this function, the Vice-President of the International Court of Justice shall be requested to make the appointment(s).

If the Vice-President is not able to carry out such function, or he is a national of either Contracting Party, the most senior Judge of the International Court of Justice who is not a national of either Contracting Party shall be invited to make such appointment.

4. The court thus constituted shall determine its own rules of procedure. Its decisions shall be taken by a majority of the votes; they shall be final and binding on the Contracting Parties.

5. Each Contracting Party shall bear the costs resulting from the appointment of its arbitrator. The expenses in connection with the appointment of the third arbitrator and the administrative costs of the court shall be borne equally by the Contracting Parties.

The tribunal may, however, in its decision direct that a higher proportion of costs shall be borne by one of the two Contracting Parties and such award shall be binding on both Contracting Parties.

Article 12. Previous Investments

This Agreement shall apply to investments made since December 16, 1991 by investors of one Contracting Party in the territory of the other Contracting Party in accordance with the tatter's laws and regulations.

Article 13. Entry Into Force and Duration

1. This Agreement shall enter into force immediately after the date of exchange of the instruments of ratification by the Contracting Parties. The Agreement shall remain in force for a period of ten years.

Unless notice of termination is given by either Contracting Party at least six months before the expiry of its period of validity, this Agreement shall be tacitly extended each time for a further period of ten years, it being understood that each Contracting Party reserves the right to terminate the Agreement by notification given at least six months before the date of expiry of the current period of validity.

2. Investments made prior to the date of termination of this Agreement shall be covered by this Agreement for a period often years from the date of termination.

3. Amendments may be introduced in this Agreement with written consent between the Contracting Parties. Any amendment will come into force if each Contracting Party informs the other Contracting Party that it has completed all its formalities allowing such an amendment to come into force.

Conclusion

In witness whereof the undersigned,' duly authorised thereto by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.

DONE at Almaty, on 16-th day of April 1998, in two original copies, each in the English, French, Dutch, Kazak and Russian languages, all texts being equally authentic. The text in the English language shall prevail in case of difference of interpretation.

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKSTAN FOR THE BELGO-LUXEMBURG ECONOMIC UNION For the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium acting both in its own name and in the name of the Government of the Grand-Duchy of Luxemburg, For the Walloon Govermnent, For the Flemish Government, For the Government of the Region of Brussels-Capital,