Middle East & North Africa

In order to foster job creation and poverty reduction, the countries of the Middle East and North Africa need to implement comprehensive reforms to improve the business environment and generate more domestic and foreign private investment. These reforms include measures to promote governance and transparency, adopt more open investment policies, restructure the public sector, liberalize services and utilities, tackle labor market rigidities, remove non-tariff barriers to trade, modernize physical infrastructure, and invest in education and training.

In recent years, a number of governments have begun to adopt effective strategies to create employment opportunities and establish a favorable environment for private initiatives, entrepreneurial freedom, and investment. FIAS' approach in the region focuses on building and sustaining such reform momentum, supporting and tracking the progress of policy implementation, and providing capacity-building assistance.

FIAS continues building on its established work in the region, which focuses on investment policy and promotion, business taxation, industrial estates/SEZ, and support to Doing Business reforms. In the coming year, FIAS plans to introduce new products in the region, in close collaboration with regional IFC AS teams, including trade logistics, secured lending, and access to land, as part of business start-up assistance.

Examples of our work

The region's poorest countries and subnational regions remain a top priority for FIAS. In addition to seeing good results in the implementation of its tax administration reform program FIAS product teams are helping to improve the investment climate in the Republic of Yemen. FIAS is providing broad programmatic support in the areas of investment regulation and attraction, Doing Business reform, tax administration simplification, customs and logistics reform, free zone reform, and industry-specific assistance. FIAS is also involved in a review of institutional responsibilities for investment regulation and attraction to overcome inconsistencies within the overall business environment and provides a set of international best practices in the areas of investor servicing and investment promotion tailored to Yemen's needs.

FIAS has been very active in recent years in the Arab Republic of Egypt, advising the government on its free zone policy and the simplification of administrative procedures to investment. FIAS consultancy emphasized the need to shift away from centrally planned, supply-driven, government- built and -operated zones that are subsidized, toward a framework that explicitly encourages greater public-private partnerships and a reliance on market forces. Following Egypt's recognition as the top reformer in the world in 2008, FIAS released Doing Business in Egypt, a subnational report covering three cities and three areas of regulation: starting a business, dealing with licenses, and registering property. Findings in the report further catalyzed Egypt's reform momentum.

In Jordan, FIAS advised the government on creating policies and incentives to reduce the inspection and private-buyer auditing burden on garment manufacturers operating in the qualified industrial zones. The project also promoted systemic improvements in labor practices and continued competitiveness.

In Tunisia, FIAS completed a review of administrative barriers to investment focusing especially on the tourism, ICT, and agro-business sectors. The review identified key procedural constraints at entry and during the life of a project, and also provided concrete recommendations to streamline these procedures.

FIAS reviewed FDI and competition legislation in Libya and the Republic of Yemen and assessed the institutional capacity to promote investment in Oman.

In Pakistan, FIAS provided a comprehensive value-chain analysis in key sectors, as well as a review of administrative barriers. FIAS is now carefully engaging in the country, focusing on business advocacy, business taxation and Doing Business reforms.

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