Meeting of the OECD Investment Committee

April 7-8 at the expanded meeting of the OECD Investment Committee (hereinafter referred to as the OECD Committee) all countries that have joined the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises (hereinafter referred to as the Declaration) participated. The participants were also representatives of the Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Economic Research Institute JSC.

In his opening remarks at the plenary session, the Chairman of the OECD Committee, Mr. Manfred Schekulin, congratulated Uruguay, which became the 50th party to adhere to the Declaration.

As part of the expanded meeting of the Committee, the results of the activities for 2020 were summed up. In particular, the issue of the decline in direct investment inflows due to the significant business uncertainty associated with the COVID-19 pandemic was discussed, which also had a direct impact on business activity. The meeting highlighted the urgent need for timely monitoring of investment trends and policies. 

The OECD Committee is currently developing a FDI Qualities Policy Toolkit. The tools contained in this package will help Governments analyze the impact of foreign investment on sustainable economic development and assess policy and institutional mechanisms to improve the quality of investment. 

Working Group on Responsible Business Conduct (hereinafter referred to as the Working Group) presented its report on the progress of the NCC mechanism from 2011 to the present. The head of the Working Group expressed special gratitude for the cooperation of the NCC in the field of dispute resolution. Between 2011 and 2021, 45% of the cases (265 out of 589) involved issues involving non-member countries of the Declaration. Thanks to the cooperation of the NCC involved, most of the submitted applications were subject to review and subsequent recommendations were made. 

As key issues, the Working Group considered the possibility of revising a number of provisions of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Companies (hereinafter referred to as the Guidelines), namely, specifying the definition of "multinational companies", as well as the relationship of the Guidelines with other international standards for responsible business conduct.