Protection of ‘Critical Infrastructure’ and the Role of Investment Policies Relating to National Security

Since early 2006, the Freedom of Investment (FOI) project has provided a forum for discussing how governments can reconcile their duty to safeguard the essential security interests of their people with the need to protect and expand an open international investment system. The project includes in-depth policy discussions of selected national security topics. Recent policy changes in OECD and non-member countries show that critical infrastructure has gained prominence as a concern for essential security interests. Drawing on notifications made under OECD investment instruments and on other publicly available information, this note presents a factual survey of governments‟ general strategies for protecting critical infrastructure and of the role that investment policy plays in these strategies.