MENA Knowledge Sharing and How-to in Subsidy Reform

Regional Workshop*

September 7-9, 2014

Dead Sea Marriott Resort Dead Sea, Jordan

Day 0: (Sunday, September 7, 2014) Welcome Reception Arysha Courtyard

20:30 – 22:30

Welcome Remarks: Yasser El-Gammal, Practice Manager, Social Protection & Labor, Middle East and North Africa, World Bank

Dr. Malek Kabariti, former Minister of Energy & Mineral Resources, Kingdom of Jordan

Husam Beides, Program Leader, World Bank

Policy Considerations for Subsidy Reform Day 1: (Monday, September 8, 2014) – Vartani Ballroom Workshop Registration

08:30 – 09:00

Review of workshop objectives, agenda, and expected outputs Introductory Session: Towards Comprehensive Energy and Social Safety Net Systems for Subsidy Reform

09:00 – 10:00

Ferid Belhaj, Country Director for Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq & Iran H.E. Ibrahim Saif, Minister of Planning & International Cooperation, Jordan H.E. Khaled Hanafy, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, Egypt Hartwig Schafer, Country Director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti

Moderator: Justin Dargin, Energy and Middle East Scholar, University of Oxford

* Note: The workshop will be conducted under the Chatham House Rule, such that participants are free to use any information received but no comments will be directly attributed to the speakers

Coffee/Tea Break and Group Picture

10:00 – 10:30

Session I: Understanding the Cost of Subsidies

10:30 – 11:50

The session will review the costs associated with maintaining subsidies in MENA. Particularly, the session will look at the negative effects of subsidies highlighting the distinction between economic and accounting costs.

Keynote Presentation: Gazi Shbaikat, Resident Representative for Iraq and Yemen, International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Panelists: Omneia Helmy, Executive Director, Egyptian Center for Economic Studies (ECES); Mohamed Shoeib, Managing Director, Qalaa Holdings Energy Division; Chris Beaton, Research and Communications Officer, Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI)

Moderator: Justin Dargin, Energy and Middle East Scholar, University of Oxford Session II: Current MENA Subsidy Reform Experiences: Egypt and Yemen

12:00 – 13:00

The session will feature participant presentations on the current status of country reforms, followed by reactions from a panel of international experts.

Case Studies: Egypt, Yemen Speakers: Tarek Saad, Minister’s Assistant, Ministry Of State For Administrative

Development, and Sherif Zoheir, Senior Tariff Specialist, Egyptian Electric Regulatory Authority; Abduljalil Aldar, Director General of Planning, Ministry of Finance, Yemen

Reactions from International Experts Moderator: Mohab Hallouda, Senior Energy Specialist, World Bank

Lunch Mosaico Restaurant

13:00 – 14:00

Session III: Current MENA Subsidy Reform Experiences: Jordan and Djibouti

14:00 – 15:00

The session will feature participant presentations on the current status of country reforms, followed by reactions from a panel of international experts.

Case Studies: Jordan, Djibouti Speakers: Mousa Tarawneh, Communications and Media Manager, National

Unified Registry for Cash Compensation Program, Ministry of Finance, Jordan; Mouna Ahmed Ragueh, Chef de service, Safety Nets Program, State Secretariat for National Solidarity, Djibouti

Reactions from International Experts Moderator: Amr Moubarak, Social Protection Economist, World Bank; Paolo Verme, Senior Economist, World Bank

Coffee/Tea Break

15:00 – 15:15

Session IV: Current MENA Subsidy Reform Experiences: Morocco and Tunisia

15:15 – 16:15

The session will feature participant presentations on the current status of country reforms, followed by reactions from a panel of international experts.

Case Studies: Morocco, Tunisia Speakers: Latifa Boudouma, Chief of Subsidies Department, Ministry of General

Affairs and Governance, Morocco; Afif Mabrouki, Director of Refining, Transport and Distribution of Hydrocarbons, Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mines, Tunisia

Reactions from International Experts Moderator: Paolo Verme, Senior Economist, World Bank

Coffee/Tea Break

16:15 – 16:30

Session V: Identifying Country Needs for Moving Forward in Energy Subsidy Reform and Social Protection Systems

16:30 – 18:00

This session will begin with round-table discussions on identifying country needs to prepare social protection and energy systems for subsidy reform. Country participants will share their thoughts on how the World Bank can support their efforts.

Chairs: Ferid Belhaj and Hartwig Schafer, Country Directors, World Bank Moderator: Yasser El-Gammal, Practice Manager, Social Protection & Labor, Middle East and North Africa, World Bank

Welcome Dinner Cascades Restaurant

20:00 – 22:00

How-To: Operationalizing Subsidy Reform Day 2: (Tuesday, September 9, 2014) – Vartani Ballroom Session VI: How to Prepare Energy Systems for Price Reform

09:00 – 10:15

What is involved in preparing a country’s energy system for subsidy reform? This session will explore the pervasiveness of subsidies along the energy supply chain. It will evaluate how-to options for reforming subsides and increasing the efficiency of energy distribution. The session will also explore intersectoral effects of energy and transportation, and energy efficiency.

Case Studies: Philippines, Turkey, Jordan Panelists: Jay Layug, former Undersecretary, Department of Energy, the

Philippines; Baris Sanli, Deputy General Manager, Ministry of Energy, Turkey; Dr. Malek Kabariti, former Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Kingdom of Jordan; Husam Beides, Program Leader, World Bank

Moderator: Maria Vagliasindi, Lead Economist, World Bank

Coffee/Tea Break

10:15 – 10:30

Session VII: Building Efficient Safety Net Systems to Protect the Poor During Subsidy Reform

10:30 – 11:50

Session will focus on ways governments can build and finance efficient, consolidated, and resilient safety net programs in their countr ies prior to engaging in subsidy-removal. Specifically, the session will look at how to design and implement a cash-transfer program including specific processes such as targeting, building a unified registry, and Management Information Systems (MIS); set-up of payments mechanisms; set-up of grievance and redress systems; and monitoring and evaluation.

Case Studies: Indonesia, Dominican Republic Panelists: Secretary Bambang Widianto, Deputy for Social Welfare and Poverty

Alleviation, Republic of Indonesia; Susana Gamez, former Technical Coordinator, Gabinete Social de la Presidencia, Dominican Republic

Moderator: Yasser El-Gammal, Practice Manager, Social Protection & Labor, Middle East and North Africa, World Bank

Session VIII: Measuring the Impact of Subsidy Reform

12:00 – 13:00

The session will review the tools available for analyzing the impact of subsidy reform at the macroeconomic and household level. Specifically, the session will introduce tools such as SUBSIM, CGE, and others.

Session Presenter: Paolo Verme, Senior Economist, World Bank Lunch Mosaico Restaurant

13:00 – 14:00

Session IX: Why Is Subsidy Reform Politically Difficult? How to Prepare for Subsidy Reform

14:00 – 15:15

Using principles of political economy, this session will explore the question of why subsidy reform is politically difficult. This session will discuss how to identify sources of resistance and support, as well as major constraints to change, and present different concepts (such as timing, sequencing, bundling, and credible commitments) that can help increase support and allow reform to take place. The second half of the session will evaluate international experiences using communication strategies to change public opinion and increase buy-in for subsidy reform.

Panelists: Simon Commander, Managing Partner, Altura Partners; Edouard Al-Dahdah, Senior Public Sector Specialist, World Bank; Damon Vis-Dunbar, Project and Communications Manager, Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI) Moderator: Gustavo Demarco, Program Leader, World Bank

Coffee/Tea Break

15:15 – 15:30

Session X: Sharing Experiences Between Practitioners on the Political Economy of Subsidy Reform

15:30 – 16:30

The session will probe on the seldom-discussed challenges to subsidy reform, with country representatives engaging in a frank discussion with political economy experts

Panelists: Simon Commander, Managing Partner, Altura Partners; Edouard Al-Dahdah, Senior Public Sector Specialist, World Bank

Coffee/Tea Break

16:30 – 16:45

Session XI: Country Takeaways

16:45 – 17:45

Day wrap-up and takeaways This session will reflect on the ‘How-To’ approach in subsidy reform in the

MENA region Moderator: Justin Dargin, Energy and Middle East Scholar, University of Oxford

Dinner in Amman Reem Al Badwadi

18:30 – 22:00

Conference financed through:

Multi-Donor Trust Fund

In collaboration with: