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15-16 December 2010, Paris, France

With the reduction of FDI inflows to the MENA region in the wake of the global recession, governments need to give new impetus to their investment policies to bring FDI back to pre-crisis levels and help redynamise growth and employment.

Held back-to-back with the OECD-UNCTAD Symposium on International Investment Agreements, the Working Group meeting discussed how to renew momentum for regional investment policies in the MENA region. Among other topics, the Working Group:

• Discussed the latest investment trends in the region as well as persisting challenges;
• Analysed ways of strengthening regional investment frameworks through a review of other regional initiatives and a discussion of possible options for Renewing momentum for regional investment policies in the MENA region: Agenda Englishthe MENA region;
• Discussed how to better promote green investment, in particular through enhancing policy frameworks and analysing the role of incentives;
• Provided and discussed a preliminary assessment of MENA investment policies and promotion using the Business Climate Development Strategy methodology of the MENA-OECD Investment Programme; and 
• Reviewed the programme for Working Group 1 for 2011 and Phase III of the MENA-OECD Programme for Investment (2011-2015).
  

Working group documents

• Agenda (English, French, Arabic)
• List of participants

Introduction: FDI trends in the MENA region and challenges

• FDI trends in the MENA region and challenges, Mr. Anthony O’Sullivan, Head, Private Sector Development Division, OECD
• FDI prospects in the MENA region, Mr. Emmanuel Noutary, ANIMA/Invest in MED

Session 1: Regional investment frameworks: Towards coherence and awareness-raising

• Evolution of international investment agreements in the MENA region
• Note: Strengthening Regional Investment Frameworks in the MENA Region
• The economic case for stronger regional investment frameworks, Mr. Alexander Bohmer, Head, MENA-OECD Investment Programme 
• The ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement (ACIA): possible lessons learned for the MENA region?, by Mr. Rizar Indomo Nazaroedin, Director for Regional Cooperation, Investment Coordinating Board, Indonesia
• Session 1: Japan’s experience and perspectives towards international investment frameworks: Regional cooperation with ASEAN countries, Hajime Matsumura Deputy Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan
• Towards a comprehensive European international investment policy, Ms. Marta Busz, Services and Investment Unit, DG Trade, European Commission
• The MENA international investment agreements landscape, Ms. Marie-Estelle Rey, Policy Analyst, MENA-OECD Investment Programme
• Analysis of existing regional agreements in the MENA region, by Ms. Carol Khouzami, Senior Legal Advisor, Office of the Minister of Finance, Lebanon
• Potential advantages of regional legal frameworks on the promotion and protection of investment, by Professor Hadi Slim, Law Professor, Université de Tours
• Modernisation of existing regional agreements, by Mr. Salah Idris, Head, Investment and Finance Section, League of Arab States
• The Moroccan experience in negotiating investment provisions in free-trade agreements, by Ms. Amina Ousmoï, Chef du Service Europe du Nord et de l’Est, Direction du Trésor et des Finances Extérieures, Ministère de l’Économie et des Finances, Morocco

Session 2: Addressing the challenges of promoting green investment in the MENA region

• Working Paper of the MENA-OECD Taskforce on Renewable Energies: Spurring Growth Through Renewable Energies in the MENA Region
• Presentation of the Working Paper of the MENA-OECD Task Force on Energy and Infrastructure: the private sector’s view on spurring growth of renewable energies in MENA through private-sector investment, Mr. Andrew Moorfield, Managing Director, Head of Oil & Gas, Lloyds Banking Group
• OECD work on investment for green growth, by Ms. Céline Kauffmann, Water and Climate Change Projects Manager, Investment Division, OECD 
• Attracting foreign investment in the renewable energy sector in Jordan, by Mr. Bashar Al-Zu'bi, Senior Advisor to the CEO, Jordan Investment Board, Jordan

Session 3: Assessing investment policies and promotion in the MENA region

• Preliminary evaluation of investment policies in the MENA region (forthcoming)
• First results of the preliminary evaluation of investment policies in the MENA region, Ms. Marie-Estelle Rey, Policy Analyst and Ms. Sophie Wernert, Consultant, MENA-OECD Investment Programme