Jordan Times
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Talks resume for mobilising
regional investments
By Mahmoud Al Abed
AMMAN — The next steps of a three-year programme aimed to mobilise investments
in the region were discussed on Wednesday by representatives from the Middle
East and North Africa (MENA) countries and the Organisation of Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) as well as other organisations.
Gathering for the second time in two months in Amman, the meeting was hosted by
the Jordan Investment Board (JIB)and moderated by “steering group” of the
programme which was formed during a preliminary meeting held in Amman on June
30-July 1 when terms of reference for five working groups were also set.
In her opening remarks, JIB Director General Reem Badran said the OECD-MENA
Steering Group was due to come up with a clear vision of the mechanisms for work
and the activities that can be held to develop the economic structure in the
MENA region, on the basis of the recommendations made by the working groups.
The Investment Action Programme is an integral part of the broader OECD-MENA
Initiative for Investment and Governance, which seeks to stimulate foreign and
domestic investment “as a driving force for growth, stability and prosperity
throughout the MENA region,” according to participants, who also included
representatives from the Arab League, the Arab Economic Council, the World Bank,
UNIDO and the UNDP, among others.
The primary purpose of the meeting was “to build on the momentum created by the
first meeting of the steering group (30 June-1 July 2004), reaffirming
decisions, broadening participation/support and launching the initial phase of
the action plan, agreed at Amman,” a statement by the organisers said.
It was expected that key donors from OECD and the region would report during the
meeting on their possible funding commitments.
Speakers in the meeting noted that the programme designed under the initiative
is meant to be demand-driven, result-oriented, regionally-owned and integrated,
partnership-based and effectively monitored.
To realise these objectives, the five working groups addressed separate policy
areas and came up with suggestions for practical steps to implement the
programme.
The groups dealt with the following fields: Transparent and open investment
policies, encouraging investment promotion agencies to act as driving forces for
reform (in partnership with World Bank/FIAS, Arab Association of Investment
Promotion Agencies, World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies and UNIDO),
providing a tax framework for investment, investment strategies in support of
diversification (in partnership with World Bank, International Energy Agency,
UNDP and UNIDO), and improving corporate governance practices (in partnership
with the World Bank Group and the Centre for International Private Enterprise).
The steering group consists of coordinators of the five work groups, who took
turn in Wednesday's meeting to present the mission and the terms of reference of
their respective groups.
Steering group members also include senior investment officials in charge of
policy issues designated by their governments in the MENA region, key
representatives of the OECD Investment Committee, private sector representatives
from both OECD and MENA countries, regional partner organisations, the World
Bank Group, the UNDP and the UNIDO.
The OECD groups 30 member countries sharing a commitment to democratic
government and the market economy. The organisation has built a global network
of partners that include about 70 other countries, NGOs and civil society.