Promoting Responsible Business Conduct through Trade and Investment in the Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye

1. Introduction and overview

Abstract

As businesses face expectations to align their activities with society’s needs, there is a greater recognition that governments have a role to play in supporting them in doing so, notably by taking action in policy areas that influence how they operate. Among these, trade and investment stand out as key levers, as the linkages with RBC are numerous and responsible trade and investment are crucial for development. This is especially relevant for the Middle East, North Africa, and Türkiye, where trade and investment are important drivers of growth that are increasingly considered also as vehicles for inclusive and sustainable development.

The concept of responsible business conduct (RBC) – which entails that businesses contribute to sustainable development whilst addressing the adverse impacts on people, planet and society that may be associated with their operations, products and services – has gained increased attention over the last decades. Nowadays, there is a wide recognition that businesses – regardless of their size, sector, operational context, ownership, and structure – should observe internationally recognised RBC principles and standards, such as those set out in the Decision of the Council on the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises [OECD/LEGAL/0307] (the MNE Guidelines). The MNE Guidelines are the most comprehensive set of recommendations jointly addressed by governments to businesses on a wide array of areas of potential business responsibility, such as human rights, labour rights, the environment, or corruption. They notably recommend that businesses undertake risk-based due diligence to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address actual and potential adverse impacts on the matters they cover.

This growing expectation that businesses act responsibly has been accompanied by an increased acknowledgement that governments have a key role to play in promoting and enabling RBC. Governments adhering to the MNE Guidelines have an international legal obligation to establish a National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct (NCP) to promote awareness and uptake of their recommendations and contribute to the resolution of issues that arise in relation to their implementation as a non-judicial grievance mechanism. However, beyond the establishment of NCPs, governments have an essential part to play in creating an enabling environment to drive, support and promote responsible business practices. The OECD Declaration on Promoting and Enabling Responsible Business Conduct in the Global Economy [OECD/LEGAL/0489] – adopted by the Ministers and Representatives of 50 countries, including Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, and Türkiye, as well as the European Union (the EU) – emphasises the importance of governments creating an enabling policy environment for responsible business practices.

Several other OECD legal instruments acknowledge the role that governments play vis-à-vis RBC. The OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises [OECD/LEGAL/0144] (the Declaration on International Investment and MNEs) – which encompasses the MNE Guidelines – recommends that governments promote and enable RBC across relevant policy areas. Similarly, the chapter on “Policies for enabling RBC” (Chapter 7) of the OECD Recommendation on the OECD Recommendation on the Policy Framework for Investment (PFI) [OECD/LEGAL/0412] recognises that governments have a role in providing an enabling environment for RBC. This role is the object of the OECD Recommendation of the Council on the Role of Government in Promoting Responsible Business Conduct (the OECD Recommendation on the Role of Government in Promoting RBC) adopted in 2022 [OECD/LEGAL/0486]. The Recommendation lays out a single comprehensive set of principles and policy recommendations to assist governments in their efforts to design and implement policies that enable and promote RBC, bringing together guidance on government policies and policy coherence for RBC from existing OECD standards on RBC or RBC-related policy areas [OECD/LEGAL/0486].

The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) – the other international RBC instrument along with the MNE Guidelines and the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy of the International Labour Organization (ILO) – also recognise governments’ role in the promotion of responsible business practices and the construction of an enabling environment for RBC. The first pillar of the UNGPs clearly affirms the States’ duty to protect against human rights abuse within their territory and/or jurisdiction by third parties, including businesses. It lays out a series of guiding principles for governments on actions to be taken to promote and enable the respect of human rights by businesses, notably through policy areas that contribute to shape business conduct.1

Trade and investment are among these policy areas, as the linkages with RBC are numerous and responsible trade and investment are key for development. The Declaration on International Investment and MNEs provides that adherent countries should promote RBC through trade and investment policies and the MNE Guidelines are in fact intended to encourage responsible trade and investment. They seek to “multiply the benefits of trade and investment […] that are needed for societies to achieve sustainable development outcomes, including the creation of more and better jobs, skills development, provision of products and services that improve living standards, and access to finance and technology needed for the digital and green transitions” (OECD, 2023, p. 10[1]).

In the Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye (MENA+T), trade and investment are important drivers of growth and development. Between 2014 and 2024, trade in the region accounted for over 86% of gross domestic product and the foreign direct investment (FDI) stock grew from USD 383 billion in 2014 to USD 513.7 billion in 2024 (ITC, 2025[2]; UNCTAD, 2025[3]). MENA+T countries, however, operate in an evolving global landscape: shifts in trade patterns, disruptions, and growing expectations for businesses to adopt responsible practices are reshaping trade and investment flows. The EU – the largest export destination and investor for Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Türkiye, accounting for over two‑thirds of exports in some cases and half FDI stock2 – has notably adopted a growing body of legislation and regulations requiring companies to observe RBC principles and standards in their operations and supply chains (European Union, 2022[4]; 2024[5]; OECD, 2026[6]). Beyond the EU, other main trade and investment partners of the region have also recently signalled the importance of promoting legal and policy frameworks that underpin RBC through trade and investment. For example, the United States (US) – an important export destination for MENA+T3 – has included commitments on environmental and labour standards in trade agreements recently signed with countries in Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean (Government of the United States, 2026, p. 4[7]). Promoting RBC is therefore paramount to sustain the region’s competitiveness in global value chains and maintain its attractiveness for foreign investment. More broadly, it is also key to increase the contribution of the private sector in addressing some of the structural sustainability challenges it faces.

It is in this context that the OECD Centre for Responsible Business Conduct developed the present report as part of the Project “Responsible business conduct for sustainable development: Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye” (MENA+T Programme).4 The report aims to analyse how governments are using trade and investment policies and agreements as a means to encourage responsible business practices. It also seeks to analyse how NCPs in the region play a role in this regard in light of their ability to promote policy coherence for RBC, underlined in the MNE Guidelines and the OECD Recommendation on the Role of Government in Promoting RBC. The report focusses on trade and investment promotion and facilitation policies, as well as trade and investment agreements.5 It covers the five countries that are part of the MENA+T Programme, namely Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and Türkiye (MENA+T Programme Countries), as well as the NCPs that have been established by these countries (MENA+T Programme NCPs).

The report builds on a previous regional report titled “Promoting Responsible Business Conduct in Trade and Investment: Latin America and the Caribbean” and published in July 2024 in the framework of the Project “Promoting Responsible Business Conduct in Latin America and the Caribbean” (OECD, 2024[8]). Both reports are part of the same series of regional publications on the intersection between RBC, trade and investment, and how trade and investment policies and agreements can be used to promote responsible business practices. The present report is based on desk-based research carried out by the OECD Secretariat on the trade and investment policies and agreements of the five countries covered by the MENA+T Programme. It has also been informed by the inputs and points of view shared by MENA+T Programme Countries during the consultations organised in the course of its elaboration. In June 2025, the NCPs that are part of the Programme met to discuss the preparation of the report and share information and experiences on their engagement with trade and investment officials, as well as on their involvement in trade and investment policymaking and negotiations. During this occasion, they also responded to a survey on the topic of RBC in trade and investment, the results of which are reflected in this report. The MENA+T Programme NCPs met again in November 2025 to discuss a preliminary draft of the present report, after which further comments and additional inputs were provided by the governments of the five Programme Countries in early 2026.

The report is structured as follows: it first explains how trade and investment policies and agreements can be used, and have been used, by governments globally as a lever to encourage RBC, through the insertion of considerations related to the areas covered by the MNE Guidelines and relevant to promote RBC (hereinafter called RBC considerations) in such policies and agreements (Chapter 2). On this basis, it analyses how, and the extent to which, RBC considerations have been included in the trade and investment promotion and facilitation policies of the five countries covered by the MENA+T Programme (Chapter 3), as well as in their trade and investment agreements (Chapter 4). The report then focusses on the role that NCPs in general can play in the promotion of policy coherence for RBC, before examining how MENA+T Programme NCPs have been involved so far in trade and investment policymaking and negotiations and have contributed to the inclusion of RBC considerations in trade and investment policies and agreements (Chapter 0). Finally, it lays out policy considerations to further the inclusion and implementation of RBC considerations in trade and investment policies and agreements in the future (Chapter 6).

Notes

← 1.  See United Nations (2011[154]), United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, Part I. The State duty to protect human rights.

← 2.  Collectively considered, EU countries received 67.7% of Morocco’s exports, 67.2% of Tunisia’s, 41.4% of Türkiye’s, and 26.5% of Egypt’s in 2024. They also accounted for over half of FDI inflows to Türkiye between 2003 and 2024 and 21.7‑43.5% of Egypt’s FDI inflows between 2019 and 2023, as well as over half of FDI stock in Morocco and Tunisia in 2024 (European Commission, 2026[130]; 2026[132]; 2025[131]; Government of Türkiye, 2026[133]; Central Bank of Egypt, 2026[134]; European Union, 2026[135]).

← 3.  In 2024, the United States was Jordan’s main export destination (32% of exports), Türkiye’s third export destination (6.13%), Egypt’s fourth (5.5%), Tunisia’s fifth (4.67%); and Morocco’s sixth (3.64%) (OEC, n.d.[136]). Moreover, it is also an important investment partner to some MENA+T Programme Countries. For example, it was the third largest source of FDI inflows in Egypt in 2024, and the second one in Türkiye between 2003‑2025 (Government of Türkiye, n.d.[137]; Government of the United States, 2025[138]).

← 4.  The Programme “Responsible business conduct for sustainable development: Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye” (MENA+T Programme)”, which is funded by Germany and Switzerland, is implemented by the OECD Centre for Responsible Business Conduct in collaboration with the OECD Istanbul Centre. It aims to promote smart, sustainable, and inclusive economic growth in the MENA+T region by supporting policymakers, businesses and stakeholders to advance and adopt responsible business practices in line with the OECD instruments on RBC.

← 5.  The analysis in the present report covers trade and investment agreements signed by MENA+T Programme Countries at the time the background analysis was carried out (i.e. until December 2025). The expression “trade and investment agreements” in the report refers to a wide range of bilateral, regional and plurilateral agreements relating to trade and foreign investment and related issues. The term “investment agreements” covers bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and investment chapters contained in free trade agreements (FTAs).