For the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments

28.10.2025

AGREEMENT

between the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Government of the Republic of Serbia

[Registered in the State register of international treaties of the Republic of Uzbekistan on November 4, 2025. Registration No. 4605-RS-2025-H]

Preamble

The Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Government of the Republic of Serbia, hereinafter referred to individually as “the Party” or collectively as “the Parties”;

Desiring to extend and intensify economic relations and cooperation between the Parties, with a view of attracting and promoting investment of the Parties in their territories that contribute to sustainable development in its economic, social and environmental dimensions;

Recognizing the important contribution investment can make to the sustainable development of the Parties, including the reduction of poverty, increase of productive capacity, economic growth, the transfer of technology, and the furtherance of human rights and human development;

Reaffirming the inherent right of the Parties to regulate in their territories and to introduce measures in order to achieve their national public policy objectives, promote sustainable development objectives and protect legitimate public welfare objectives *, such as public health, national security, the environment, the conservation of living and non-living exhaustible natural resources, labor standards, the integrity and stability of the financial system and public welfare;

* The Parties confirm their understanding that the contribution of an investment to sustainable development can be measured through (i) an increase in production capacity, (ii) economic growth, (iii) the quality of jobs created, (iv) duration of the investment, (v) technology transfer, (vi) poverty reduction, (vii) environmental protection, or (viii) the reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions

Seeking an overall balance of the rights and obligations among the Parties, the Investors, and the Investments under this Agreement;

Emphasizing the importance of responsible business conduct, the promotion of transparency and the fight against corruption;

Convinced that all investments shall be made in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations;

Understanding that the reciprocal promotion and protection of investments in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement will contribute to a significant increase in mutual investments and strengthen cooperation between the private sectors of the Parties;

Have agreed as follows:

Article 1 Definitions

For the purpose of this agreement:

1. “Investor” means

a. Any natural person who is a national of a Party in accordance with its national legislation who has made an Investment in the territory of the other

Party; or

b. Any legal entity, including companies, corporations, commercial associations provided that such legal entity:

i. is established or otherwise duly organized in accordance with the legislation of a Party;

ii. has its headquarters and the center of its economic activity or substantial business activity in the territory of that Party; and

iii. has made an Investment in the territory of the other Party in accordance with that Partyʼs legislation.

c. This Agreement shall not apply to Investments made by:

i. natural persons who are nationals of both Parties or who are permanent residents of the Host State;

ii. legal entities owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by a national of the Host State or a third state; or

iii. legal entities owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by a legal entity that is constituted, organized or operated under the laws of the Host State or a third State.

d. To be covered by the protections of this Agreement, a natural person or legal entity would be qualified as an Investor at the time the Investment is made.

2. “Investment” means:

a. Every kind of assets directly invested by the investor of one Party in the territory of the other Party in accordance with its legislation, that has the characteristics of an investment, including a certain duration, the commitment of capital and other resources, the assumption of risk or the expectation of gain or profit. Forms that an investment may take include:

a) an enterprise

b) Shares, stocks, debentures and other instruments of participation in an enterprise;

c) Movable or immovable property or other property rights such as mortgages, liens or pledges;

d) intellectual property rights such as copyrights and related rights, patents, industrial designs or models, trademarks, as well as goodwill, technical processes and know-how

e) rights under concession contracts, concluded in accordance with the legislation of host State, including licenses to cultivate, extract or exploit natural resources.

b. Changes in the legal form of an Investment shall not affect its qualification as an Investment under this Agreement, provided that such a change is in compliance with the laws of the Host State.

c. For greater certainty, “Investment” does not include:

i. debt securities issued by the Host State Government or loans to the Host State Government;

ii. portfolio investments;

iii. claims to money that arise solely from commercial contracts for the sale of goods or services or the extension of credit in connection with a commercial transaction;

iv. credits, loans or other money-lending resources received from banks, sovereign funds and other financial institutions located in the Host State; or

v. credits, loans or other money-lending resources received from foreign financial institutions under the guarantee of the Host State government.

vi. An order or judgement entered in judicial, administrative or arbitral procedure

vii. Any other form of investment that is not directed at gaining economic or other commercial benefit.

3. “Home State” means

a. in relation to a natural person, the Party of nationality of the Investor in accordance with the laws of that Party;

b. in relation to a legal or juridical person, the Party of incorporation or registration of the Investor in accordance with the laws of that Party.

4. “Host State” means the Party in whose territory the Investment is located.

5. “Legislation” means laws, regulations, rules, decrees and other measures that are legally binding in the territory of each Party.

6. “Territory” means

The area over which Parties exercises their sovereign rights and jurisdiction, in accordance with their national laws and regulations and international law.

a. the land territory, internal waters and territorial sea, including the air space above the areas of the Party.

b. [The free economic zone of the Party consistent with the Part V of the United Nations Convention of Law of the Sea;]

c. [The Continental shelf of the Party consistent with the Part VI of the United Nations Convention of Law of the Sea.]

Article 2 Scope of the Agreement

1. This Agreement shall apply to all Investments made by Investors of either Party in the territory of the other Party, accepted or admitted as such in accordance with the Host Partyʼs laws and regulations, whether made before or after the coming into force of this Agreement.

2. For greater certainty, this Agreement provides only post establishment protection to investments and investors and does not cover the pre-establishment phase or matters of market access.

Article 3 Relation to Other International Agreements

1. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent a Party from fulfilling its obligations under international law.

2. Any inсоnsistеnсу or question regarding the relationship between this Аgrееmеnt and аnоthеr international agreement to which any of the Parties is a party shall be resolved in ассоrdаnсе with the Vienna Соnvепtiоn on the Law of Treaties.

Article 4 Institutional Governance

Each Party shall designate a government agency responsible for the administration and implementation of this Agreement. The Parties shall encourage cooperation between the agencies so designated, in accordance with Article 5.

Article 5 Investment Promotion and Facilitation

1. The Parties shall cooperate in the promotion of Investment by Investors of their respective nationalities into the territory of the other Party, with a special emphasis on Investments that support the Host Stateʼs sustainable development strategies.

2. The Parties shall exchange information with respect to the investment opportunities, laws and regulations for foreign investors in their respective territories.

3. The Parties may provide investment financing and investment guarantee facilities for Investors covered by this Agreement. Such facilities shall, if used, promote compliance with the obligations of Investors set forth in this Agreement.

4. Each Party shall ensure that all measures that affect Investments are administered in an objective and impartial manner, in accordance with its legal system.

5. Each Party shall, wherever possible, ensure that its laws, regulations and administrative rulings of general application relevant to matters covered by this Agreement, are freely accessible to Investors.

Article 6 National and Most Favored Nation Treatment

1. Each Party shall accord to Investments of Investors of the other Party treatment no less favorable than that accorded, in like circumstances, to investments of its own investors or to investments of investors of any third State, whichever is the more favorable.

2. Each Party shall in its territory accord investors of the other Party, as regards their management, maintenance, use, enjoyment or disposal of their investments, treatment equally favorable that it accords to its own investors or to investors of any third State, whichever is more favorable.

3. For greater certainty, references to “like circumstances” in paragraph 1 requires an overall examination on a case-by-case basis of all the circumstances of an investment including, but not limited to:

a. the Investmentʼs effects on third persons and the local community;

b. the Investmentʼs effects on the local, regional or national environment, including the cumulative effects of all investments within a jurisdiction;

c. the sector in which the Investment was made;

d. the aim of the state act or measure concerned; and

e. the regulatory process applied in relation to the state act or measure concerned.

4. The treatment granted under paragraph 1 and 2 shall not be construed as to preclude national security, public security or public order nor oblige one Party to extend to the Investors of the other Party and their Investment the benefit of any treatment, preference or privilege resulting from:

a. its membership of, or association with, any existing or future free trade areas, customs union, economic union, common market or monetary union;

b. an existing or future free trade agreement;

c. any international agreement or any domestic legislation relating wholly or mainly to taxation; or

d. other agreement for the avoidance of double taxation or by virtue of its participation in customs union and free trade areas, or on basis of reciprocity with a third country.

5. The provisions of this Agreement relating to the national and most favored nation treatment shall not apply:

a. to resolve disputes between one Contracting Party and investors of the state of the other Contracting Party;

b. in. regarding the privatization of land plots and the acquisition of ownership rights to privatized land plots.

Article 7 Minimum Standard of Treatment

1. Each Party shall accord to Investments treatment in accordance with the customary international law minimum standard of treatment of aliens, including fair and equitable treatment and full protection and security.

2. For greater certainty, paragraph 1 prescribes the customary international law minimum standard of treatment of aliens as the minimum standard of treatment to be afforded to covered Investments. The concepts of “fair and equitable treatment” and “full protection and security” do not require treatment in addition to or beyond that which is required by that standard, and do not create additional substantive rights. The obligation in paragraph 1 to provide:

a. “fair and equitable treatment” refers only to a Partyʼs obligation not to deny justice to any Investor in criminal, civil or administrative adjudicatory proceedings in accordance with the principle of due process embodied in the principal legal systems of the world.

b. “Full protection and security” refer only to a Partyʼs obligation relating to the physical security of Investors and Investments and not to any other obligation whatsoever.

3. A determination that there has been a breach of another provision of this Agreement, or of a separate international agreement, does not establish that there has been a breach of this Article.

4. For greater clarity, the Parties confirm their shared understanding that “customary international law” generally and as specifically referred to in this Agreement results from a general and consistent practice of states that they follow from a sense of legal obligation.

5. For greater certainty, the mere fact that a Party takes or fails to take an action that may be inconsistent with an Investorʼs expectations does not constitute a breach of this Article.

6. In considering an alleged breach of this Article, a tribunal constituted under Article 24 shall take into account whether the Investor pursued action for remedies before domestic courts or tribunals prior to initiating a claim under this Agreement.

Article 8 Expropriation and Compensation

1. A Party shall not nationalize or expropriate an Investment directly or indirectly through measures having an effect equivalent to nationalization or expropriation except

a. for a public purpose;

b. in a non-discriminatory manner;

c. on payment of prompt, adequate, and effective compensation; and

d. in accordance with due process of law.

2. Indirect expropriation occurs if a measure or series of measures of a Party has an effect equivalent to direct expropriation, by substantially and permanently depriving the Investor of the fundamental attributes of property in its Investment, including the right to use, enjoy, and dispose of its Investment, without formal transfer of title or outright seizure.

3. The determination of whether a measure or series of measures of a Party, in a specific situation, constitute indirect expropriation requires a case-by-case, fact-based inquiry, which takes into consideration:

a. the economic impact of the measure or series of measures, although the sole fact that a measure or series of measures has an adverse effect on the economic value of an Investment does not establish that an indirect expropriation has occurred;

b. the duration of the measure or series of measures;

c. the character of the measure or series of measures, notably their object, context and intent; and

d. whether the measure or series of measures breaches the Partyʼs prior binding written commitment to the Investor whether by contract, license or another legal document.

4. Non-discriminatory regulatory measures by a Party that are designed and applied to protect legitimate public welfare objectives, such as public welfare, public health, safety and the environment, do not constitute indirect expropriations.

5. The compensation referred to in paragraph 1 shall be equivalent to the fair market value of the expropriated Investment immediately before the expropriation took place and must not reflect a change in value due to the expropriation.

6. Compensation shall be paid without delay and shall be fully realizable and freely transferable.

7. If the fair market value is denominated in a freely convertible currency, the compensation referred to in paragraph 1 shall be no less than the fair market value on the date of expropriation, plus interest at a commercially reasonable rate for that currency, accrued from the date of expropriation until the date of payment.

8. The affected Investor shall have a right under the law of the expropriating Party to a review of its case and the valuation of its Investment by a judicial or other independent authority of that Party in accordance with the principles set out in this Article.

9. In considering an alleged breach of this Article, a Tribunal constituted under Article 24 shall take into account whether the Investor has pursued action for remedies before domestic courts or tribunals prior to initiating a claim under this Treaty.

10. This Article does not apply to the issuance of a compulsory license granted in relation to intellectual property rights or to the revocation, limitation or creation of an intellectual property right, to the extent that the issuance, revocation, limitation or creation is consistent with the Agreement on establishing the World Trade Organization dated 15 April 1994.

Article 9 Compensation for Losses

1. Investors whose Investments suffer losses due to war, armed conflict, revolution, state of national emergency, insurrection, or civil strife, shall be accorded treatment no less favorable than that which the Host State accords to its own investors or to investors of a third State as regards restitution, indemnification, compensation or other settlement.

2. Without prejudice to paragraph 1, an Investor shall be accorded adequate compensation if, in any of the situations referred to in that paragraph, the Investor suffers losses resulting from:

a. requisitioning of the Investorʼs property by Host Party forces or authorities; or

b. destruction of the Investorʼs property by Host Party forces or authorities, which was not caused in combat action or was not required by the necessity of the situation.

Article 10 Transfers of Funds

1. Each Party shall in accordance with its legislation, allow the free transfer of funds after related to an Investment, namely:

a. capital and additional capital amounts used to maintain and increase investment;

b. profits, dividends, interest, capital, gains, royalty payments, management fees, technical assistance and other fees, returns in kind;

c. repayments of any loan including interest thereon, relating directly to the Investment;

d. proceeds from sales of their shares;

e. proceeds received by investors in case of sale or partial sale or liquidation;

f. payments arising from an award in an investment dispute;

g. the amount of compensation in case of expropriation; or

h. salaries and other remuneration to nationals of one Party who have been allowed to work in the territory of the other Party in connection with an Investment.

2. Each Party may prevent or delay a transfer through the equitable, non-discriminatory and good faith application of its laws and regulation relating to:

a. tax obligations;

b. bankruptcy insolvency, or the protection of rights of creditors;

c. issuing trading, or dealing in securities, futures, options or derivatives;

d. criminal or penal offences;

e. financial reporting or record keeping or transfers when necessary to assist law enforcement or financial regulatory authorities; or

f. orders or judgments in judicial or administrative proceedings.

3. Transfers of payments shall be made without delay in a freely convertible currency at the exchange rate applicable on the date of transfer, per the national legislation of the state of the Host State.

Article 11 Temporary Safeguard Measures

1. In the event of serious balance-of-payments and external financial difficulties or threat thereof, a Party may adopt or maintain measures otherwise inconsistent with its obligations under this Agreement, including restrictions on payments or transfers under Article 10. It is recognized that the particular pressure on the balance of payments of a Party in the process of economic development may necessitate the use of restrictions to ensure, inter alia, the maintenance of a level of financial reserves adequate for the implementation of its program of economic development.

2. The restriction referred to in paragraph 1 shall:

a. be in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement on membership in International Monetary Fund;

b. Not exceed those necessary to deal with the circumstances described in paragraph 1;

c. Be temporary and be phased out progressively as the situation specified in paragraph 1 improves;

d. Be applied on a non-discriminatory basis such that Investors of the other Party is treated no less favorably than Investors of a non-Party; and

e. Be promptly communicated to the other Party.

Article 12 Compliance with Laws and International Obligations

1. Investors and their Investments shall comply with all laws, regulations, administrative guidelines and policies of the Host State relating to the establishment, acquisition, management, operation and disposition of investments.

2. Investors and their Investments shall comply with the provisions of law of the Host State concerning taxation, including timely payment of tax liabilities.

3. Investors and their Investments shall manage and operate the Investments in a manner consistent with the Partiesʼ obligations under international agreements relating to human rights, labor, environmental protection and climate change.

4. Each Party shall strive to comply with international law, including obligations under international agreements relating to human rights, labor, environmental protection and climate change, and shall ensure that its laws, policies and actions are consistent with those obligations.

Article 13 Investment and Environment

1. The Parties recognize that it is inappropriate to encourage investment by weakening or reducing the environmental protections afforded in domestic laws. Accordingly, each Party shall ensure that it does not waive or otherwise derogate from, or offer to waive or otherwise derogate from, such laws in a manner that weakens or reduces the environmental protections afforded in domestic law or international environmental agreements, or fail to effectively enforce its environmental laws through a sustained or recurring course of action or inaction. If a Party considers that the other Party has offered such an encouragement, it may request consultations with the other Party and the two Parties shall consult with a view to avoiding any such encouragement.

2. Nothing in this Agreement shall be constructed to prevent a Party from adopting, maintaining, or enforcing, in a non-discriminatory manner, any measure that it considers appropriate to ensure that investment activity in its territory is undertaken in a manner sensitive to environmental concerns.

Article 14 Investment and Labor

1. The Parties recognize that it is inappropriate to encourage investment by weakening or reducing the labor rights accorded in domestic labor laws. Accordingly, each Party shall ensure that it does not waive or otherwise derogate from, or offer to waive or otherwise derogate from, its labor laws where the waiver or derogation would be inconsistent with the labor rights conferred by domestic laws and international labor instruments, or fail to effectively enforce its labor laws through a sustained or recurring course of action or inaction. If a Party considers that the other Party has offered such an encouragement, it may request consultations with the other Party and the two Parties shall consult with a view to avoiding any such encouragement.

2. Nothing in this Agreement shall be constructed to prevent a Party from adopting, maintaining, or enforcing, in a non-discriminatory manner, any measure that it considers appropriate to ensure that investment activity in its territory is undertaken in accordance with core labor standards.

Article 15 Impact Assessments

1. Investors shall conduct assessments of the environmental and social impact of each proposed investment, or the proposed expansion of an existing investment. The assessments shall meet the requirements of the laws of the Host State, the laws of the Home State, and applicable international law.

2. The impact assessments required under paragraph 1 shall include assessments of the impacts on the human rights of the persons in the areas potentially impacted by the investment.

3. Investors or their Investments shall make the environmental and social impact assessments public and accessible to the local communities, or other areas with potentially affected interests, in an effective and sufficiently timely manner so as to allow comments to be made to the Investor, Investment or government prior to the completion of the Host State processes for establishing an Investment.

4. A breach of this Article by an Investor or an Investment is deemed to constitute a breach of the law of the Host State concerning the establishment and operation of an Investment.

Article 16 Subrogation

1. Where one Party or its designated agency has guaranteed any indemnity against non-commercial risks in respect of an Investment by any of its Investors in the territory of the other Party and has made payment to such Investors in respect of their claims under this Agreement, the other Party agrees that the first Party or its designated agency is entitled by virtue of subrogation to exercise the rights and assert the claims of those Investors. The subrogated rights or claims shall not exceed the original rights or claims of such Investors.

2. In case of subrogation as defined in paragraph 1 of this Article, the Investor shall not be entitled to require a claim, unless authorized to do so by the Party or its designated agency.

Article 17 Anti-corruption

1. Each Party shall ensure that measures and efforts are undertaken to prevent and combat corruption regarding matters covered by this Agreement.

2. Investors and their Investments shall not, prior to the establishment of an Investment or afterwards, offer, promise or give any undue pecuniary or other advantage, whether directly or through intermediaries, to a public official of the Host State, or any person in close proximity to an official, for that official or for a third party, in order that the official or third party act or refrain from acting in relation to the performance of official duties, in order to achieve any favor in relation to a proposed investment or any licenses, permits, contracts or other rights in relations to an investment.

3. Investors and their Investments shall not be complicit in any act described in Paragraph 2, including incitement, aiding and abetting, and conspiracy to commit or authorization of such acts.

4. A breach of this Article by an Investor or an Investment is deemed to constitute a breach of the law of the Host State concerning the establishment and operation of an Investment.

5. The Parties to this Agreement, consistent with their applicable law, shall prosecute and where convicted penalize persons that have breached the applicable law implementing this obligation.

Article 18 Investor Liability in Home State

1. Investors shall be subject to civil actions for liability in the judicial process of their Home State for the acts or decisions made in relation to the Investment where such acts or decisions lead to significant damage, personal injuries or loss of life in the Host State.

2. The Home State shall ensure that its legal systems and rules allow for, or do not prevent or unduly restrict, the bringing of court actions on their merits before their domestic courts relating to the civil liability of Investors and Investments for damages resulting from alleged acts, decisions or omissions made by Investors in relation to their Investments in the territory of the Host Party.

Article 19 Access to Investor Information

1. Host States have the right to seek from an Investor, a potential Investor, or its Home State, information about the Investorʼs corporate governance history and its practices as an Investor, including in its Home State.

2. Host States shall protect confidential business information they receive in this regard.

3. Host States may make the information provided available to the public in the community where an Investment is located, or where a proposed Investment is to be located, subject to the protection of confidential business information and to other applicable domestic laws.

Article 20 Denial of Benefits

A Host State may at any time, including after the institution of arbitration proceedings in accordance with Article 24 of this Agreement, deny the benefits of this Agreement to:

1. an Investment or Investor owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by persons or entities of the Host State; or

2. an Investment or Investor owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by persons or entities of a non-Party to this Agreement, where the Host State adopts or maintains measures with respect to that non-Party that would be violated or circumvented if the benefits of this Agreement were accorded to the Investor or to its Investments;

3. an Investment or Investor that has been established or restructured with the primary purpose of gaining access to the dispute resolution mechanisms provided in this Agreement; or

4. an Investor whose Investment represents no substantial business activity in the territory of the Host State.

Article 21 Right of State to Regulate

1. In accordance with customary international law and other general principles of international law, the Host State has the right to take regulatory or other measures to ensure that development in its territory is consistent with the goals and principles of sustainable development, and with other legitimate social, environmental and economic policy objectives.

2. For greater certainty, non-discriminatory measures taken by a Party to comply with its international obligations under other treaties shall not constitute a breach of this Agreement.

Article 22 Corporate Social Responsibility

Each Contracting Party should encourage enterprises operating within its territory or subject to its jurisdiction to voluntarily incorporate internationally recognized standards of corporate social responsibility in their practices and internal policies, such as statements of principle that have been endorsed or are supported by the Parties. These principles address issues such as labour, the environment, human rights, community relations and anti-corruption.

Article 23 Disputes Prevention and Amicable Settlement

1. Any dispute between the Parties, or between an Investor and a Party, shall as far as possible be settled amicably through consultations and negotiations, which may include the use of non-binding third-party procedures such as conciliation and mediation.

2. If settlement has not been reached six (6) months after a Party or an Investor has communicated a request for consultation and negotiation in accordance with paragraph 1, that Party or Investor may submit the dispute to arbitration in accordance with Article 24 or 25.

Article 24 Settlement of Disputes between a Party and Investor of the Other Party

1. This Article shall apply to disputes between an Investor and a Host State that arise out of an Investment and concern an alleged breach of an obligation of the Host State under this Agreement that has caused loss or damage to the Investor or its Investment.

2. This Article shall not apply to disputes between an Investor and a Host State that:

a. concern any measure adopted or maintained or any treatment accorded to Investors or Investments by a Party in respect of fossil energy sources or fossil-related products or services;

b. concern an Investment made through fraudulent misrepresentation, concealment, corruption or conduct amounting to an abuse of process; or

c. arises out of events that occurred before the entry into force of this Agreement.

3. If a dispute cannot be settled through consultation and negotiation in accordance with Article 23, the Investor may submit the dispute to arbitration under:

a. the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of other States (“ICSID Convention”), if this Convention is applicable to the Parties;

b. the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce;

c. the Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL); or

d. any other arbitration rules, if all disputing partiesʼ consent.

4. Once the dispute has been submitted to one of the arbitration mechanisms provided for in paragraph 1, the choice of the procedure shall be final.

5. The Investor may submit a claim to arbitration pursuant to this Agreement, provided that:

a. six (6) months have elapsed from the date of the request for consultation and negotiation under Article 23;

b. the Investor has exhausted local remedies through the domestic courts of the Host State;

c. no more than three (3) years have elapsed from the date on which the Investor acquired, or should have acquired, knowledge of the alleged breach that caused loss or damage to the Investor or its Investment.

6. Each party to the dispute shall bear the cost of its representation in the arbitral proceedings. The cost of arbitrators and the remaining costs shall be borne in equal parts by the parties to the dispute. The tribunal may decide that the entire costs, including the costs of legal representation, or a higher proportion of costs, shall be borne by the unsuccessful disputing party, where an allegation of fact or law material to the outcome of the case is deemed to have been manifestly unsustainable, or where the party obstructed the efficiency and expeditiousness of the arbitration.

7. No measures of constraint, before or after a final award, such as attachment, garnishment or execution, can be taken against the property of the Host State.

Article 25 Settlement of Disputes between the Parties

1. This Article shall apply to disputes between the Parties concerning interpretation or execution of this Agreement.

2. The Parties shall strive in good faith to reach a fair and quick settlement of any dispute through consultations and negotiations in accordance with Article 23.

3. In the event the dispute cannot be settled through consultations and negotiations, either Party may submit the dispute for resolution by:

a. an ad hoc arbitral tribunal in accordance with the provisions of this Article;

b. a permanent arbitration institution in accordance with the rules of that institution; or

c. the International Court of Justice.

4. Where a Party has submitted a dispute for resolution by an ad hoc arbitral tribunal:

a. The tribunal shall be composed of three arbitrators. Each party shall appoint one arbitrator, and the two arbitrators so appointed shall appoint, with the approval of both Parties, a national of a third country as Chairman of the Tribunal.

b. If the tribunal has not been constituted within six months of a Partyʼs request for arbitration, either Party may, in the absence of any other agreement, request the President of the International Court of Justice to make any necessary appointments. If the President is a national of either Party or otherwise prevented from making the appointments, the member of the International Court of Justice next in seniority who is not a national of either Party shall be requested to make the necessary appointments.

c. The tribunal shall determine its own procedures.

d. All the claims shall be submitted, and all hearing sessions shall be completed, within a period of six months from the date of the appointment of the third arbitrator, unless otherwise agreed.

e. The tribunal shall reach its decisions by a majority of votes. Such decisions shall be final and binding on both Parties.

f. The tribunal shall strive to issue a decision within two months from the date of the Partiesʼ final submissions.

5. Each party to the dispute shall bear the cost of its representation in the arbitral proceedings. The cost of arbitrators and the remaining costs shall be borne in equal parts by the parties to the dispute. In exceptional circumstances, the tribunal may decide that the entire costs, including the costs of legal representation, or a higher proportion of costs, shall be borne by one of the two Parties.

6. The tribunalʼs decision shall be binding on both Parties.

Article 26 Third Party Funding

1. The use and involvement of third-party funding is not permitted in arbitration proceedings under Article 24, unless:

a. the parties to the dispute expressly consent to such involvement; or

b. a party to the dispute

i. informs the arbitral tribunal and the other disputing parties of the existence and identity of any third-party funder, and

ii. posts a security for costs in an amount and form determined by the tribunal.

2. For the purposes of this Article, third-party funding is an arrangement for the funding of claims or defenses under which a non-party to the dispute has an economic interest in the outcome of the arbitration proceedings.

3. The following do not constitute third-party funding for the purposes of this Article:

a. inter-company funding within a group of companies;

b. fee arrangements between a party and its counsel; or

c. an indirect interest, such as that of a bank having granted a loan to the party in the ordinary course of its ongoing activities rather than specifically for the funding of the arbitration proceedings.

4. A breach of this Article shall result in a dismissal of the dispute.

Article 27 Amendments

This Agreement may be amended by the mutual consent of the Parties through an exchange of notes or signing of an amendment agreement. An amendment shall enter into force after fulfilment the same procedure for entering into force as provided for the present Agreement in Article 28.

Article 28 Entry into Force

The Parties shall notify each other in writing of the completion of their internal legal procedures necessary for the entry into force of this Agreement. This Agreement shall enter into force thirty (30) days after the date of receipt of the later notification.

Article 29 Duration and termination

1. This Agreement shall remain in force for a period of ten (10) years. Either Party may give notice of termination of this Agreement not less than six (6) months before it is due to expire. Failing such notice, this Agreement shall continue in force for an indefinite period until either Party notifies the other Party in writing of its intention to terminate this Agreement.

2. A Party may terminate this Agreement by sending a written notice through diplomatic channels of termination to the other Party. The termination takes effect on the day when the Parties have agreed, or, if the Parties cannot reach an agreement, six (6) months after the date on which the notice of termination was delivered.

3. With respect to Investments made prior to the date of termination of this Agreement and falling under its scope, the provisions of all other clauses of this Agreement shall remain in force for three (3) years after the date of termination.

Article 30 Periodic Review of This Agreement

1. The Parties will convene or hold consultations every five (5) years after the entry into force of this Agreement to review its operation and effectiveness, including levels of investment between the Parties.

2. The Parties may take joint measures to improve the effectiveness of this Agreement.

Done at Tashkent on 28 October 2025, in two original copies, each in the Uzbek, Serbian and English languages, both texts being equally valid. In case of discrepancies in the interpretation of the provisions of this Agreement, the English text shall prevail.

(signatures)