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Good Governance and Investment for Development(GIfD) in Arab States |
The OECD GIfD program on the Middle East North Africa (MENA) is a three-year initiative structured in three phases with an ongoing monitoring process.
The Initiative's two programs (Investment & Good Governance) aim to assist the efforts of MENA countries to modernize their government structures and processes, fight corruption, and improve their investment policies and environments.
The first phase (Stocktaking) consists of a policy stocktaking exercise to identify and analyze barriers to reform.
The second phase (National Action Plans) will develop national action plans with time-bound targets to promote modernization of the state, governance and investment policy reform.
The third phase (Implementation and Capacity Building) will establish roadmaps as a strategic framework to implement the action plans through policy dialogue.
Six key features define the Initiative:
- First, it is a regional effort that complements existing bilateral programs and reinforces their impact and effectiveness.
- Second, it has clear regional ownership and high-level political commitment from MENA countries.
- Third, it leverages the U.S. government’s existing reform efforts in the region.
- Fourth, it is an action-oriented policy dialogue with policy practitioner peers from OECD member nations.
- Fifth, the OECD will partner with, and leverage the resources of, UNDP and the World Bank Group.
- Sixth, thematic working groups co-chaired by MENA and OECD nations will address priority reform areas including transparent and open investment policy, investment promotion, tax policy, diversification, and corporate governance.
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| The MENA Investment Program |
The MENA Investment Program seeks to mobilize private investment – foreign, regional and domestic – as a driving force for economic growth, employment creation, stability and prosperity throughout the MENA region.
The program is carried out through a Steering Group and five Working Groups, each chaired by a MENA country and co-chaired by an OECD country.
A two-day ministerial in Amman, Jordan in 2006 reviewed National Action Plans and ratified a declaration by Arab countries to spur economic growth, development and social progress across countries in the MENA region to meet the needs of rapidly growing populations.
The U.S. Government is one of the key supporters of the MENA Investment Program, with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. State Department’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI).
The U.S. Government believes that increased economic prosperity will bolster democratic reforms in the region, as well as increase education and encourage women’s participation in the economy.
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| The MENA Good Governance for Development in Arab Countries Initiative |
The MENA Good Governance for Development Initiative aims at modernizing public governance and fighting corruption
Policy makers share their know-how on six priority reform areas including:
- Civil Service and Integrity;
- E-government and Administrative Simplification;
- Governance of Public Finance;
- Public Service Delivery, Public-Private Partnerships and Regulatory Reform;
- Role of the Judiciary and Enforcement; and
- Civil Service and the Media.
Like the Investment initiative, each reform area is attributed to a Regional Working Group, led by a MENA country and co-chaired by member countries of the OECD.
The U.S. Government places great emphasis on the objectives of the MENA Governance Program. As a co-chair for two of the regional working groups (Governance of Public Finance and Role of the Judiciary and Enforcement), the U.S. Government has made a significant financial and intellectual contribution to the success of the program.
The U.S. Government recognizes that the Governance program is unique as it provides a cooperative framework that gives a voice to policy makers in the region rather than external consultants. The emphasis is on steering away from “one-size-fits-all models” for each of the MENA countries and seeking solutions to governance challenges by peer review, regional dialogue and considering alternative paths to governance.
Civil society representatives including those from the business community, academia, and non-governmental organizations play a key role in the implementation of the MENA Governance program.
In May 2006, a GfD Steering Group meeting at Ministerial level took place in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt to discuss progress and next steps for the program.
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