Nikhil Desai and Laura Lusiji attended the East Africa International Arbitration Conference which took place in Kigali, Rwanda between 28th and 29th September 2017. The theme of the conference was dubbed “Linkages between International arbitration and Africa’s Economy” which focused on the economic implications of international arbitration, including the opportunities and challenges faced by African countries. The conference was well attended by law firms across the continent and reputable international law firms, as well as other professions involved in international arbitration such as governments, companies involved in the natural resources sectors and third party funders. Nikhil Desai made a presentation on “The Peculiarities of Arbitrating with African States” where he dealt with the perils of arbitrating against States and State entities and focused on anti-arbitration injunctions and other practical considerations. Laura Lusiji made a presentation on “The Case of Investment Arbitration involving African States and Whether It Works”, where she looked at the effect of investment arbitrations against African countries, and what specific countries were doing to mitigate these effects.