DESIGNING EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR INVESTMENT PROMOTION AND REFORM COMMUNICATION

A genda










DESIGNING EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR







INVESTMENT PROMOTION AND REFORM








COMMUNICATION












- Working Group 2 Meeting -












25-26 June 2007









- Mövenpick Hôtel –


Manama, Bahrain










Organised by

The MENA-OECD Investment Programme



Hosted by

MENA Investment Centre

Manama, Bahrain




Under the patronage of


Shaikh Mohammed Bin Essa Al-Khalifa


Chief Executive of the Economic Development Board

of Bahrain

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Objective

Working Group 2 (WG2) of the MENA-OECD Investment Programme contributes to building a
positive image of the MENA region, through multi-stakeholder dialogue and sharing of good practices
between the MENA and OECD countries’ governments, investment promotion agencies, private
sector, civil society and other partners. WG2 seeks to identify best practice in investment promotion
capacity using MENA and OECD countries’ know how to help identify solutions and provide practical
policy advice.

The purpose of this meeting of the Working Group is to discuss recommendations regarding the
agreed output areas of WG2 that will be presented to the second MENA Investment Ministerial
Meeting, 27-28 November 2007. Key functions and progress areas for Investment promotion
agencies and business associations in MENA countries will be discussed, such as: how to organize
an effective policy advocacy function within the organization, the creation of efficient One-Stop-Shops,
benchmarking tools for investment climate performance and the overall communication of investment
climate reforms to affected constituencies (second day). The Working Group will also be invited to
discuss the preparation of the Business Day that will precede the Ministerial meeting.


Participants

As for previous meetings of the WG2, MENA countries are invited to send investment promotion
experts from their IPAs and Business Associations/Chambers of Commerce. Investment policy and
promotion experts from OECD countries will participate in the meeting. The Union Méditerranéenne
des Confédérations d’Entreprises (UMCE), the Union of Arab Banks, the Arab Council for Economic
Unity, the Council for Arab Business Women, and other partner organisations are invited to attend the
meeting. Representatives of the World Bank Group, Islamic Development Bank, UNIDO, WAIPA,
European Commission/ANIMA, UNCTAD, CIPE are also invited.

Documentation

The relevant meeting documents together with a more detailed agenda will be distributed to
participants in advance of the meeting. For information about the Programme please visit our
website:


www.oecd.org/mena/investment


The meeting will be followed by a roundtable on Strategies for Reform Communication of
Investment Climate Reforms, with the objective of drawing lessons from the best reformers
on how to best package and communicate reforms to achieve growth and employment. The
roundtable will be held on the morning of 26 June; participants of WG2 are invited to attend.

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MEETING ITINERARY




Monday, 25 June 2007

8:30 – 9:00
Opening Session

Introductory Remarks
 Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al-Khalifa, Chief Executive, Economic Development
Board, Bahrain
Co-moderators
 Mr. Paul Obrist, Working Group 2 Co-Chair, Advisor, State Secretariat for Economic
Affairs, Switzerland
 Dr. Rainer Geiger, Head of the MENA-OECD Investment Programme
9:00 – 10:15
Session 1: Investment Promotion Agencies in MENA – Strategies to improve the
investment climate in the region

This session will give the opportunity to Investment Promotion Agencies and business
representatives to present strategies for the improvement of investment climate and recent
development in MENA, on the regional as well as on the national ground.

 H.E.Sheikha Hissa Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, President of the Council Of Arab
Businesswomen
 Mr. Nasir Al Mansour, Studies Specialist, Investment Performance Assessment, Saudi
Arabia
 Mrs. Souraya Ouali, Investment Department, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Morocco
 Mr. Salah Al Attar, President, General Investment Authority, Yemen
 Ms. Vivian Jamal, Director Business Development, Bahrain Economic Development Board
10:15 – 11:30
Session 2: Policy Advocacy Function of the Investment Promotion Agencies,
Business Associations and Chambers of Commerce in MENA

In interfacing between the private and the public sector IPAs are in a strategic position to
advocate policy change and reform to improve the investment climate and thereby promote new
business and investment. Other actors like Business Associations and Chambers can assume a
similar function. This session will discuss the key organizational measures for setting up a
successful policy advocacy function within these institutions based on results of a workshop
conducted last year and a survey tool developed for that purpose.

 Mr. Declan Murphy, Director, Strategy Partners, Ireland and Advisor to the OECD
 Mr. Saqer Shaheen, Board Member, Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry
 Mrs. Neveen El Shafei, Vice Chairman, Policy Advocacy Department, GAFI

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 Dr. Nabil Shalaby, Adviser, Entrepreneurship & SMEs Development, Eastern Province
Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Saudi Arabia
 Mr. Mohamed Youssef, Secretary General, Egyptian Businessmen’s Association
11:30 – 12:15
Coffee Break – Prayer


12:15 – 12:45
Session 3: IPA and Investment policy performance benchmarking

Effective policy advocacy for investment climate reforms requires knowledge about what a best
practice investment climate encompasses. Instruments such as the Policy Investment Framework,
the Investment Reform Index, (by OECD) and the Doing Business (World Bank) have been used
successfully in emerging market regions for benchmarking and evaluating progress in
investment policy reforms. This session will discuss how these tools can be used by countries in
the MENA region.

 Dr. Rainer Geiger, Head of the MENA-OECD Investment Programme

 Mr. John Speakman, Lead PSD Specialist, World Bank

12:45 – 14:00
Session 4: Implementing administrative simplification: the case of One-Stop-
Shops


Time consuming and burdensome procedures for establishing a business remain one of the most
often cited obstacles in business surveys on the investment climate in OECD and non-OECD
countries alike. One approach has been the establishment of one-stop-shops (OSS) as part of the
services provided – for example - by Investment Promotion Agencies and the simplification of
the administrative procedures behind. This session intends to share experiences among MENA
countries on creation of OSS and their efficient functioning.

 Dr. Alexander Böhmer, Executive Manager, MENA-OECD Investment Programme

 Mr. Ali Makki, Director, Company affairs & Bahrain Investor Centre, Ministry of Commerce,
Bahrain
 Mr. Hani Nsour, One Stop Shop Director, Jordanian Investment Board, Jordan
14:00 – 15:30
Lunch break

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15:30 – 16:30 Session 5: Preparation of Ministerial Business Forum: 27 November

The main purpose of this session will be to prepare the Business Forum preceding the
Ministerial meeting taking place on 27 November in Cairo. The WG2 will also be asked to
provide input to a Business Statement which will be presented to Ministers. The key elements of
the Business Forum to be discussed:

- Women Business Leaders Forum
- Matchmaking preparation
- MENA 500 publication
- Business Statement

Open discussion

Chairperson: H.E.Sheikha Hissa Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, President of the
Council Of Arab Businesswomen

 Dr. El Sayed Torky, Co-Chair Representative of the MENA-OECD Investment Programme
 Mrs. Eva Seddik, Under Secretary of State for Promotion, GAFI
 Dr. Hashim Hussein, Head of Investment & Technology Promotion Office, Bahrain, UNIDO
 Dr. Amany Asfour, Chair Egyptian Business Women Association
 Mr. Mohamed Youssef, Secretary General, Egyptian Businessmen’s Association
16:30 – 16:45
Coffee break


16:45 - 17:30
Session 6: Next steps and activities for Working Group 2

The session will focus on assessing the outputs of WG2. Future projects for the WG2 in the
second phase of the Programme will be presented, in particular on: a) FDI Integration –
Building Linkages with local economies; b) Policy advocacy mentoring programs; c) FDI
Statistics project.

Open discussion

Moderator: Dr. Alexander Böhmer, Executive Manager, MENA-OECD Investment
Programme

17:30 – 18:00
Concluding remarks


 Dr. Zakaria Ahmed Hejres, Deputy Chief Executive, Economic Development Board,
Bahrain
 Mr. Paul Obrist, Working Group 2 Co-Chair, Advisor, State Secretary for Economic
Affairs, Switzerland
 Dr. Rainer Geiger, Head of the MENA-OECD Investment Programme

19:30
Reception for the Opening of the MENA Investment Centre
The Programme work of Bahrain MENA Investment center will be presented and its
activities launched

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MEETING ITINERARY




Tuesday, 26 June 2007

Roundtable of Working Group 2

STRATEGIES FOR COMMUNICATION OF INVESTMENT CLIMATE REFORMS

A key measure of success for governments is their ability to present and communicate reforms to broader
audiences in order to achieve their full benefits and minimise resistance of stakeholder groups. The key
objective of this roundtable will be to discuss experiences of policy makers in packaging and communicate
economic and investment climate reforms effectively. In doing so, the meeting will draw the lessons from
the reformers on how to best package and communicate economic policy reforms, and particularly
investment policy reforms to achieve growth and full employment.

The sessions will include discussion on the experience with structuring economic and investment climate
reforms, a panel with country case study presentations, followed by a session on packaging reforms with
participation of public relations companies. The long term objective of the project will be to develop a
toolkit and a synthesis of lessons learned by governments in communicating economic and investment
climate reforms more specifically.


09:00 - 09:30 Opening Session


 H.E.Sheikha Hissa Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, President of the Council Of Arab
Businesswomen
 Dr. Khalid Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer, Real Estate Finance Company, Bahrain

 Dr. Alexander Böhmer, Executive Manager, MENA-OECD Investment Programme
9:30 – 11:30
Session 1: Experience with structuring economic and investment policy reforms
in the MENA region

This session will review the experience with investment climate reforms in Middle East and
North Africa and OECD countries. The objective will be to highlight the sequencing of reforms,
experience with interaction with opposition groups; effective strategies for overcoming
resistance to reforms; and timing of reforms.
Country case studies will follow by government officials who will present their efforts in
investment related reforms. This will be an interactive session where public relations agencies
and other communications specialists present will provide feedback on the reforms already
implemented. The focus of discussion will be on privatization and investment liberalisation.

Moderator: Mr. Declan Murphy, Director, Strategy Partners, Ireland and Advisor to the OECD

PRESENTATION OF COUNTRY CASE STUDIES

 Mr. Abdulillah Al-Qassimi, Deputy Chief Executive, Labour Fund, Bahrain

 Mr. Aref Al Farra, Advisor to the Ministry of Economy, United Arab Emirates
 Mr. Nazih Barqawi, Secretary General, Executive Privatisation Commission, Jordan

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 Mrs. Souraya Ouali, Investment Department, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Morocco
11:30 – 12:00
Coffee Break – Prayer


12:00 – 13:30
Session 2: Packaging of reforms

Why is packaging and effective communication of reforms so important? This session will
provide an overview of some of examples of packaging and communication of reforms with
main lessons learned. The session will address the following questions: what are the different
ways to package reforms both internally (to other ministries and agencies) and externally? How
should private sector support be mobilized?

Moderator: Dr. El Sayed Torky, Co-Chair Representative of the MENA-OECD Investment
Programme

Presentations and commentary by communication agencies - Successful strategies for
reaching out to key stakeholder groups

 Mr. Will Hill, Associate Director, Fleishman Hillard
 Mr. Tim Walmsley , Regional Director, Impact Porter Novelli

Presentations and commentary by MENA business associations - Impact of investment climate
reforms on the private sector

 Dr. Amany Asfour, Chair Egyptian Business Women Association
 Mr. Mohamed Youssef, Secretary General, Egyptian Businessmen’s Association
 Mr. Hassan Radhi, Hassan Rahdi & Associates, Law firm, Bahrain

Followed by open discussion and commentary
13:30 – 14:00
Concluding remarks and way forward



 Mr. Alexander Böhmer, MENA Investment Programme Executive manager, OECD

14:00 – 15:00
Lunch

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CONTACTS




Mr. Alexander Böhmer
Executive Programme Manager
MENA-OECD Investment Programme
E-mail: alexander.boehmer@oecd.org
Telephone: +33 1 45 24 1912

Ms. Arouna Roshanian
Policy Analyst
MENA-OECD Investment Programme
E-mail: arouna.roshanian@oecd.org
Telephone: +33 1 45 24 1664
Fax: +33 1 44 30 61 35

Mr. Patrice Dubus
MENA-OECD Investment Programme
E-mail: patrice.dubus@oecd.org
Telephone: +33 1 45 24 97 30
Fax: +33 1 44 30 61 35

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