Program

Lead Organization

The World Bank.

Partners

The European Union (EU), the United States, and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). Also, IPEMED (Economic Foresight Institute for the Mediterranean Region); KNOMAD (Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development); Tunisia School of Business; Mediterranean School of Business; local business unions and think tanks; trade ministries in the region with a trade and integration strategy, such as Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia with the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, and Libya with the World Trade Organization (WTO). 

Challenges

• The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is among the least integrated region in the world, regionally and globally.
• The MENA region suffers from a lack of private investment and high unemployment rates, including among the young educated people.

Program Objective

Maghreb countries have the lowest percentage of intra-regional trade in goods (the order of 3 to 5% of their total trade), and this percentage has increased slightly since 2000. Economic integration in the Maghreb integration would boost the level of intra-regional trade with major partners in Europe and other emerging countries. According to a recent study, we believe that the shortfall of the "non-Maghreb" amounted to around 1-2% of regional GDP.

Selected Results (Planned)

Improved network: Regional integration is reinforced by establishing a network of champions from various constituencies to foster business-to-business dialogue and actions and enhance communication among experts in trade facilitation and logistics. This network also seeks to engage with and support the Arab diaspora.