03 December 2004

Mideast, OECD Business Leaders Prepare for Forum for the Future

Business leaders explore ways to coordinate reform efforts

Members of the Arab Business Council and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Middle East task force will report on their activities and present their economic and political reform recommendations to Middle Eastern and Group of Eight (G8) government officials meeting at the Forum for the Future in Rabat, Morocco, December 11.

The Forum for the Future will bring together government, business and civil society leaders from the countries of the Middle East, North Africa and the G8 group of industrialized nations to discuss initiatives aimed at establishing greater political freedom, economic prosperity and social development in the broader Middle East region. The G8 nations include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and Russia.

Business leaders from the Middle East and North Africa met with government and business representatives from the member countries of the OECD in Paris, November 19. They discussed how to coordinate regional and international initiatives aimed at improving the business and investment climate in the broader Middle East region.

According to the statement that emerged from the meeting, the participants agreed that the regional business initiatives sponsored by the G8 nations and the OECD should be closely coordinated in order to maximize their effectiveness and avoid any duplication of efforts.

The participants affirmed that the goal of the international and regional initiatives should be the development of policy recommendations aimed at creating a more investment-friendly environment and greater integration of capital markets. They also seek to establish mechanisms to ensure effective implementation of the policies.

Following is a press release from the meeting of the OECD's Middle East group:

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G8 INVESTMENT TASK FORCE -- MENA/ OECD COORDINATION MEETING

19 NOVEMBER 2004, PARIS

Conclusions by Shafik Gabr, Chairman of the Arab Business Council,
Reem Badran, CEO Of Jordan Investment Board and Richard Hecklinger, OECD
Deputy Secretary -- General

This meeting, which brought together MENA and OECD business representatives and government officials, explored the practical ways in which the Arab Business Council, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD and other private sector bodies could most effectively contribute to efforts to improve the investment climate in the MENA region.

Participants agreed on the importance of ensuring that initiatives in the region work closely together in furthering common goals namely developing priority policy actions, implementing them effectively, monitoring progress and enhancing capacities for implementation.

Participants recognized the complementary roles of the G8 Investment Task Force and the MENA-OECD Investment Program in promoting key reforms to improve the investment climate and to foster private sector development in the MENA region. Participants shared the understanding that close co-operation and interaction between the two programs is essential to maximize their effectiveness and to avoid duplication.

It was agreed that business groups would meet again to discuss the practical arrangements as to how their inputs to the MENA-OECD Investment Program can be best organized, particularly for the WGs and elaboration of country economic reform programs.

The ABC will work with National Competitive Councils and other regional business institutions in establishing a regional Task Force on Investment (TFI) which would invite business representatives from the region, the G8, China, India and other leading nations to constitute its Board of Trustees. The TFI will engage with regional governments, international organizations, and regional and international business communities to recommend means to create investment --friendly environments, enhance investment in the region, encourage capital market integration and support investment awareness.

The MENA Task Force of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD will help organize workshops to support independent business associations in the MENA region. The BIAC and the G8/MENA Investment Task Force will cooperate in organizing a MENA-OECD Business Forum back-to-back with the first MENA Investment Ministerial Meeting in autumn 2005.

It was agreed that the Arab Business Council, Jordan as the co-chair of the MENA-OECD Investment Steering Group and OECD would jointly report to the G8 BMENA Forum For the Future on 11 December 2004, on progress and next steps.

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