MENA-OECD Investment Programme: Ministerial Declaration and Related Documents

Ministerial Declaration and Related Documents 

 Déclaration ministérielle et documents connexes

 Arabic version

The first year of activities of the MENA-OECD Investment Programme was brought to a successful conclusion in the Ministerial Meeting held at the Dead Sea, Jordon, on 13-14 February 2006. The Ministerial Meeting entitled Investment for Development – Making Reforms Work was convened by the Government of Jordan, then acting as a regional Chair of the Programme, to review progress in implementing policy measures to improve the investment climate and to provide further direction and guidance on future activities of the Investment Programme.

The Ministerial meeting concluded with a Declaration on Attracting Investment to MENA Countries – Common Principles and Good Practice. Ministers present also endorsed an ambitious programme for regional dialogue and capacity-building developed by the Working Groups, as well as the country specific efforts outlined in the National Investment Reform Agendas.

The Ministerial Meeting was preceded by a Business Day, where over 300 private sector representatives and organisations, such as the Arab Business Council and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, were gathered to discuss key issues related to the economic reform process and private sector investment in the region. The MENA-OECD Business Network has outlined its experience in a Business Statement which was presented to the Ministerial Meeting, calling on MENA Ministers to enhance investment policy reforms.

The Ministerial Declaration and Business Statement are jointly intended to serve as a foundation for ongoing projects of the Programme, guiding its activities throughout 2006 and 2007. They demonstrate the results of the first regional effort to adopt a set of guiding principles for investment policy reform in the Middle East and North Africa. They are complemented by the Recommendations developed by the five Working Groups of the Programme to provide guidance for the Programme's regional activities as well as for the selection of priorities in the National Investment Reform Agendas of MENA countries.