5th Regional Meeting of the GfD Working Group IV and Capacity Building Seminar “Promoting Expertise in Regulatory Management”, 19&20 May 2009, Tunis, Tunisia

Background information

The Good Governance for Development (GfD) in Arab Countries Initiative aims at modernising public governance in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The Working Group (WG) IV focuses on Public Service Delivery, Public Private Partnerships and Regulatory Reform. This WG is chaired by Tunisia and co-chaired by Canada, Italy and Netherlands.

The fifth regional meeting of the GfD Working Group IV will be held back-to-back with the capacity building seminar on “Promoting Expertise in Regulatory Management”. In the framework of this event, the Tunisian authorities will officially launch the Regional Centre of Expertise for Regulatory Quality (RCERQ). The structure, objectives and programme of activities in this centre will be discussed with delegates to the Working Group IV.

Objectives of the Fifth Regional Meeting of the GfD Working Group IV

• Analyse the impact of the economic and financial crisis on the reform programs of the participating countries and the contribution of regulatory policy in tackling the crisis.
• Analyse the progress of the project law drafting capacities in Arab countries and discuss its preliminary results.
• Update on the forthcoming Ministerial Meeting to take place in November 2009 and discuss the contribution from the Working Group IV to the Ministerial statement and recommendations.
• Discuss activities organised in the framework of the WG IV and agree on general guidelines for the programme of work ahead.

Objectives of the Capacity Building Seminar on “Promoting Expertise in Regulatory Management”

The aim of the seminar is to build capacities on law making in the Arab countries through an analysis of institutions promoting expertise in regulatory management. The goal of these institutions is to promote the regulatory quality by enhancing clarity, transparency, predictability, efficiency, effectiveness and enforceability. This event will provide a forum to discuss how OECD and Arab countries have strengthened their institutional capacities to promote better regulatory policies.

• Draft agenda (English version, French version)

Following this announcement more information regarding the meeting will be uploaded shortly.