India's BIPA pact with Jordan comes into force

New Delhi: The Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPA) between India and Jordan has come into force, with the two countries exchanging instruments of ratification (IRs) here recently.

Dr Anup K. Pujari, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, and Mr Mohamed Ali Daher, Ambassador of Jordan, exchanged IRs. Mr Virender Gupta, Additional Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, presided over the ceremony.

BIPA seeks to promote and protect investments from either country in the territory of the other country with the objective of increasing bilateral investment flows.

The Cabinet had approved signing and ratification of BIPA with Jordan on November 30, 2006. The agreement was signed in New Delhi on December 1, 2006 by erstwhile Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram.

An official release said that India has so far signed BIPA with 73 countries. Of these, 61 have already been ratified and had come into force.

BIPA with Syria had also come into effect from January 22. Jordon is the 63rd country with which BIPA has come into force.