Representatives of Permanent Missions, UN agencies, donors and civil
society came together at a half-day Open Doors event on June 7, 2011, to
discuss the implications of the “Arab Spring” on trade and development in
the region. The exchange of views at the Open Doors provided fresh insights and
enabled ITC to refine its strategic approach as well as the nature and scope of
its assistance to the countries in the region.
The event included a presentation of ITC’s draft strategy for the Arab
region followed by a Panel Discussion where a group of distinguished experts
shared their views on the root causes of the protests and the important role
trade can play in bringing about peace, stability, economic growth and
sustainable development in the region. The key messages of the panellists
Talaat Abdel-Malek, Riccardo Bocco and Sherif El Diwany, as well as the
introduction by ITC’s Deputy Executive Director Jean-Marie Paugam and
concluding remarks by ITC’s Executive Director Patricia Francis, can be viewed
in the videos below.
Opening speech by Jean-Marie Paugam
ITC Deputy Executive Director Jean-Marie Paugam opens the panel discussion about civil protests in the Arab States. He underlines the historic nature of the developments in the region and that ITC's re-evaluation of its intervention strategy in the region will be greatly enriched by today's exchange of opinions.
Speech by Talaat Abdel-Malek
Talaat Abdel Malek discusses the development bottlenecks that have contributed to the eruption of widespred civil protests and the likely implications for economic development and official development assistance to the region.
Mr. Abdel-Malek is Co-chair of the OECD DAC Working Party on Aid Effectiveness.
Speech by Riccardo Bocco
Mr. Riccardo Bocco looks at the events in the Arab States region from a self-critical European perspective. He reflects on which instruments have been used by Europe for its ODA in the region and how both have "paid lip service to democracy" in the Arab States by putting their own economic interests at the center of the European Neighbourhood Policy.
Mr. Bocco is political sociologist and currently professor at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva.
Speech by Sherif El Diwany
Mr. El Diwany analyzes some of the economic causes and impacts of the protests in Egypt and the region as a whole. By using the World Economic Forum's methodology of assessing competitiveness of economies, Mr. El Diwany shows that corruption is at the centre of institutional development needs in the region and how this is linked to the eruption of protests.
Mr. El Diwany is the former Head of the World Economic Forum's section on the Middle East and North Africa and is currently Special Advisor to the WEF's Chairman.
Concluding remarks by Patricia Francis
ITC Executive Director Mrs. Patricia Francis summarizes the discussion by saying that building institutional capacity is key for sustainable development, not only in the Arab States. She emphasized that trade can be an important means of achieving sustainable development if its benefits are targeted at those who need it most.