Singapore – Lawyers in the Singapore office of global law firm K&L Gates LLP have provided capacity building in international investment law and arbitration for the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration & Employment (MOTIE) of the Government of The Gambia in collaboration with the Investment Support Programme for Least Developed Countries (ISP/LDCs) implemented by the International Development Law Organization (IDLO). Partner Raja Bose, a coordinator for K&L Gates’ international arbitration practice group, and senior associate Rob Houston conducted the sessions with co-presenter Marisa Razeek, an international economic and trade lawyer with experience in the negotiation of international investment agreements, highlighting such key topics in public international law as customary international law, treaty interpretation, state attribution, state responsibility, treaty negotiation, investor-state dispute settlement, and the contemporary landscape of international investment agreements.

Financed through the generous contributions of the European Union and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and designed by IDLO in collaboration with UN-OHRLLS, ISP/LDCs provides technical and legal advice and assistance to LDC governments and private sector entities on investment-related matters, including negotiations and dispute settlement, as well as complementary capacity building. Assistance under ISP/LDCs is provided at no cost to the beneficiaries, leveraging the services of lawyers and other professionals who are ready to contribute their knowledge and experience to the sustainable development of the Least Developed Countries.  

K&L Gates has been a participating firm in IDLO’s ISP/LDCs since its official launch in 2017, and the firm continues to be a strong supporter of this important pro bono initiative. Given ongoing travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the sessions with MOTIE were conducted virtually over four days in February, linking the K&L Gates office in Singapore with the IDLO’s representatives in Rome and participants in Banjul, The Gambia. Targeting topics of interest identified in a prior needs assessment, the customized sessions provided participants in government service in The Gambia with topical overviews, detailed examples from practice in the area of investor-state dispute settlement, group participation activities, and summaries of key takeaway points.  

MOTIE’s Director of Industry & Investment Fabba Jammeh stated: “The training offers a valuable opportunity to advance MOTIE’s ongoing efforts to further develop knowledge on international investment law and arbitration to meet the challenges of the 21st century. This is a rare opportunity to build capacities in International Investment Law and Arbitration in LDCs, and more so in The Gambia. I strongly believe that participants will put into practice the learnt lesson in our investment arrangements, particularly negotiation at this very material time of our democratic dispensation and the Rule of Law.”

More information about the IDLO’s important work in the ISP/LDCs is available on the IDLO website. Please see the K&L Gates website for more information on the firm’s wide range of pro bono initiatives and respected investor-state arbitration practice.