Kenya’s foreign trade disputes costly - experts

Kenya spends at least Sh500 million in defending a single case filed by investors at international courts under the Bilateral Investment Treaties, according to a regional trade negotiation institute. The Southern and Eastern Africa Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI) and EcoNews Africa said the provisions under the treaties are very risky. The two bodies said the funds used in legal protection and which mostly are not recovered, could be directed in state-led development. BITs are agreements between countries for the reciprocal promotion and protection of investments. However, according to the institutions, BITs have increasingly protected foreign investors, with the capital-exporting countries using the agreements to further their market liberalisation.