A National Mineral Policy as an International Investment Law Stratagem: The Case of Tajikistan's Gold Reserves

Abstract

This Article proposes that a national mineral policy (NMP) can be crafted to generate foreign direct investment (FDI) and strengthen aspirational sustainable development goals. Less-developed countries (LDCs) typically overlook or underestimate this federal policy imperative while seeking to harness mineral resources. Creation of an NMP and complementary changes to federal mining investment laws can provide host countries increased opportunities as well as autonomy to profit from their own natural resources and, at the same time, investor nations further mining prospects. By way of example, I will analyze how in the Central Asian state of Tajikistan the world’s second largest known gold reserves remain unearthed because of a precautionary and highly-administrative approach to international investment law.

Keywords: Sustainable Development, Mining, International Investment Law, Tajikistan, Central Asia