Attracting investment to the MENA region – and harnessing its benefits – is needed now perhaps more than ever. Building on the longstanding relationship between the region and the OECD, Middle East and North Africa Investment Policy Perspectives serves as a reference point for policymakers and the international community as they continue their dialogue on designing a roadmap to recovery in the region. The publication takes stock of ten years of investment policy in the region, drawing out common challenges and offering suggestions for reform priorities.

In the past decade, many MENA governments have advanced important reforms to improve the investment climate, including measures to ease the entry of foreign business and streamline regulations for investors. Still, further efforts are required to leverage investment that can support job creation, productivity improvements and economic diversification, enabling a shift to an economic model supporting a more sustainable and inclusive recovery. This session will discuss policy actions to improve the investment climate that can support the recovery, enabling SMEs and achieving sustainable economic growth. The discussion will consider regional economic integration as both an objective and a driver of investment policy reforms.

The development of global value chains, with production spread across different countries worldwide, has been a major business trend for several decades. The pandemic crisis has led to reflections in business and policy communities pondering the advantages and fragilities associated with the segmentation of production in distant countries. The limits set by insufficient infrastructure affect the geography of production, but also the mobility of people across countries and regions, accompanied by the circulation of ideas, innovation and culture. This session will discuss the opportunities for MENA countries to reorient industrial production in the aftermath of the pandemic, in a context of proximisation of supply chains. The session will consider potential external co-operation and regional integration not only between MENA countries themselves and with Europe, but also the rest of Africa. The discussion will reflect on existing challenges, in particular the completion of regional infrastructure networks.