The Initiative on Governance and Competitiveness for Development is a regional effort, initiated and led by countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). It promotes broad reforms to enhance the investment climate, modernise governance structures and operations, strengthen regional and international partnerships, and promote sustainable economic growth throughout the MENA region.



The Initiative consists of two pillars:

1-MENA-OECD Governance Programme:

The MENA-OECD Governance Programme is a strategic partnership between MENA and OECD countries to share knowledge and expertise, with a view of disseminating standards and principles of good governance that support the ongoing process of reform in the MENA region.

The Programme provides a sustainable structure for regional policy dialogue as well as for country specific projects. These projects correspond to MENA governments increasing commitment to pursue public sector reforms in view of unlocking social and economic development and of meeting citizens’ growing expectations in terms of quality services, inclusive policy making and transparency

2-MENA-OECD Competitiveness Programme:

The MENA-OECD Competitiveness Programme (formerly the MENA-OECD Investment Programme) was launched in 2005 at the request of Middle East and North African (MENA) governments to support investment policy reforms for growth and employment in the region. Participating economies include Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

The Programme convenes representatives of these 18 MENA governments, OECD member countries and emerging economies to exchange good practices in a wide range of policy areas, leveraging the OECD model of policy dialogue and peer learning. It provides a platform for dialogue with civil society, the business community and academia to collectively identify priority business climate reforms and support their implementation.