Originally from World Arbitration Reporter (WAR) - 2nd Edition

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I.  INTRODUCTION

Established in 1969, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation  (“OIC”) is the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations, with 57 member States spread over four continents.  The OIC system—comprised of the Islamic Summit, the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, the Secretary General, and the Permanent Secretariat—seeks to promote solidarity and cooperation in respect of, among other things, economic relationships among its member States. To this end, the OIC adopted the Agreement on Promotion, Protection and Guarantee of Investments among Member States in 1981 (“OIC Investment Agreement”).

The OIC Investment Agreement itself reiterates the OIC’s broader goal to promote economic relationships among the member States.  The treaty’s Preamble emphasizes that the governments of the OIC member States are “[c]onvinced that relations among the Islamic States in the field of investment are one of the major areas of economic cooperation . . . through which economic and social development . . . can be fostered on the basis of common interest and mutual benefit.”