The statement was made during the Annual Energy Dinner 2023, an established platform not only for the analysis and reflection of the energy sector in Bolivia but also as a platform for proposing sustainable solutions.

ISSUE 118 | 2023

Raúl Serrano

Bolivia is one of the countries with lower foreign direct investment (FDI), according to a report by ECLAC, a dependency of the United Nations that states that between the years 2021 and 2022, Brazil had an FDI of around 46 billion dollars, Chile 15 billion, Colombia 9 billion, and Bolivia did not even reach 600 million dollars.

This statement was made by Iver Von Borries during his presentation at the Annual Energy Dinner 2023, emphasizing that “so, if we look at the numbers, we must understand that something is failing in Bolivia because despite having natural resources, boasting about being a country blessed by God with vast reserves of iron, lithium, gold, silver, and extraordinary biodiversity, investors are not coming to the country.”

He said that this situation was motivated by political decisions such as withdrawing Bolivia from the ICSID, the world’s leading institution dedicated to the settlement of disputes related to international investments, which has extensive experience in this field as it has administered the majority of international investment cases.

“States have agreed that the ICSID should be the forum for the settlement of disputes between investors and states in most international investment treaties, as well as in numerous contracts and investment legislation,” said Von Borries, lamenting the absence of the Bolivian state from this international reconciliation scenario and the guarantee for foreign investment in areas such as hydrocarbons.

…I’m glad that Minister Molina has said that Law 3058, dating back to 2005, is already obsolete and needs to be changed…”

In this context, and in agreement with the panelists, he stated that it was important to have clear and transparent regulations in Bolivia that guarantee the interests of companies deciding to invest in the country, ensuring that without such guarantees, it is difficult to expect an increase in foreign investment.

He said that under these conditions, “Bolivia does not have a single bilateral investment treaty, and they are all in the process of renegotiation. Unfortunately, this fact has a deep impact because when a foreign investor wants to come to Bolivia, the first thing they do is ask lawyers about security conditions,” he said, highlighting the absence of the necessary legal framework provided by bilateral investment treaties, one of the key factors in deciding the financing of large-scale projects in a particular country.