Regional Cooperation as a Catalyst for Development in a

Changing Environment: ESCWA region

Rima KhalafUnder-Secretary-General, Executive Secretary UNESCWA

Arab Regional Cooperation

Preceded others… as far back as 1945

Objective: Full economic integration Pan Arab Unity

Institutions & Agreements League of Arab States 1945 Joint Defense and Economic Cooperation Treaty 1950 the Convention on Trade and Transit 1953; Greater Arab Economic Unity 1957 Greater Arab Free Trade Area Agreement 1997

2

Results Regional Institutional infrastructure. High levels of Intra Arab ODA High intra regional tourism. Modest Achievement in trade: o Intra regional trade 11% Better performance in sub-regional groupings: GCC

Critically Informal integration, between people, have by far

surpassed formal cooperation3

Uprisings across the region Demands: Freedom, dignity, social justice

Key questions Where is the region headed to? What role can the UN system play? How can we leverage existing partnerships? How to forge new ones?

Arab World is Changing

Slide 4

Impact on Regional Cooperation:• the ‘What’?• the ‘Who’?

An ‘Arab Spring’?

More like concurrent four seasons

Spring: Successful Regime Change (Egypt &Tunisia)

Summer: Violence.

Fall: Negotiated transformation

Winter: Forestalled political reforms.Slide 5

KEY CHALLENGES

1. Successful Transition: Forging a new social contract. Building democratic institutions & Culture. Dealing with counter-revolutionary forces.

2. Violent Transition: Humanitarian crises, Physical destruction of infrastructure Rebuilding state institutions (not modernizing)

3. Negotiated Transition:Reform initiatives promising but outcome uncertain.

4. Forestalled Transition:Deflects problems and may be fiscally unsustainable

Regional cooperation & support for long term gains

ItIntegration can be catalyst for growth: Existing complementarities

Different Production Structures Diverse Endowments

Shared cultural heritage Similar socio-political history

Regional cooperation can help address shortcomings: Under-performing public institutions Weak social policies, especially social protection. Comparatively high level of trade protection Weak Regulatory environment Low-quality of educational system

Slide 7

Opportunities

Transparent business environment

Integrated social strategies and programs

Open civil society

Better education to boost innovation and entrepreneurship

Current efforts need to be leveraged

Challenges

Weak institutions (esp. Economic)

Breaking rent-seeking networks

Ensuring inclusive development

Current events may affect business climate

Slide 9

Partners for Development - Rising to the challenge (selected examples)

Addressing Infrastructure constraints. Enhancing negotiating capacities to attract

investments (Negotiations of bilateral investment treaties).

Institutional development & capacity building for Arab Parliaments on the advancement of women, management of shared water resources and improving accessibility for physically disabled.

Strengthen capacities to formulate national youth policies

Better Business Environment

Strengthening legislative Institutions

Addressing needs of Youth

Slide 10

Partners for Development - Rising to the challenge (selected examples, cont’d)

Working towards

achieving IADGs

Assessment and Policy Options for MDGs Development of regional tracking indicators of

MDGs. Beyond 2015: Future UN Development Agenda

Improving engagement in Global negotiations

Supporting MCs, along with stakeholders, in the preparations for Rio+20

WTO negotiations (Doha Round).

Sustainable Management of natural resources

Legal framework on shared water resources. An inventory on shared water basins.

Slide 11

Partners for Development - Rising to the challenge (selected examples, cont’d)

Partners for

- Harmonization of cyber legislation

Establishing STI observatories Dissem-ination of Science, Technology and Innovation ESCWA Technology Centre

Advancement of Social Development

Programmes that foster results-based and participatory development

Setting-up of Knowledge Networks for Disadvantaged Communities.

National dialogue on Integrated Social Protection

Partners for

-

Achievements: enrolment and E leaning initiatives

Educational Challenges: Quality not Quantity Pervasive conflict

Cooperation most fruitful in: Curricula development Quality assessment and accreditation.

Slide 12

Partners for Development- Rising to the ChallengeCross-cutting issues---Education

Education

Regional cooperation efforts as catalysts

Partners for

-

13

Regional cooperation can be a catalyst for development beyond trade and formal economic agreements.

Recent social movements showed importance of informal channels, challenging the conventional top-down integration mechanism

ESCWA promotes a multidimensional integration and cooperation approach including the economic (exchange of goods, labor, and capital) and the non-economic dimension (social, environmental, institutional, etc…) at all levels

(from the top policymaking and institutional levels to the grassroots).

Slide 14

League of Arab States

League of Arab States

National Governments in

14 Member States

National Governments in

14 Member States

UN Partners at the country

level

UN Partners at the country

level

International

Regional

National

Gulf Cooperation

Council

Gulf Cooperation

Council

OICOIC

Islamic Develop-

ment Bank

Islamic Develop-

ment Bank

Private SectorPrivate Sector Civil Society

Civil Society

UN Secretariat: Department of Economic and Social

Affairs

UN Secretariat: Department of Economic and Social

Affairs

Other donorsOther

donors

UN Develop

ment Group

UN Develop

ment Group

World Bank,

IMF, etc.

World Bank,

IMF, etc.

Economic and Social

Commission for Western

Asia

Economic and Social

Commission for Western

Asia

Regional Offices of

Funds, Agencies and Programmes

Regional Offices of

Funds, Agencies and Programmes

UNDP Regional

Bureau for the Arab States

UNDP Regional

Bureau for the Arab States

Other international organisations (e.g. IPU)

Other international organisations (e.g. IPU)

Strengthening existing cooperation for better South-South Cooperation

othersothers

othersothers

Regional Commissions

Regional Commissions

THANK YOU

� شكرًا15