By : Bakinam Khaled

The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked an unparalleled socio-economic crisis that is threatening lives, disrupting economic activity and public service delivery, testing public trust in governments, and hurting the well-being and jobs of millions of people.

The path to recovery, and to a better future for economies and societies, demands multilateral dialogue.

In the spirit of supporting an inclusive and sustainable recovery in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, a MENA-OECD Forum and Ministerial Conference running over 30-31 March and 1 April will bring together Ministers of foreign affairs, finance, trade, investment, public administration, justice, youth, and women from MENA and OECD economies, as well as regional partners, the private sector and civil society, to explore pathways to recovery from the pandemic, creating jobs and social resilience. The Conference will be led by Tunisian Head of Government H.E. Mr. Hichem Mechichi and OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría. A closing Ministerial Declaration will lay out commitments for the coming years.

All of the Forum events and the opening of the Ministerial are open to journalists (download a full agenda) with the following highlights:

13:00-13:20 Tuesday 30 March: Launch of the publication “Middle East and North Africa Investment Policy Perspectives”, a new OECD report looking at the challenges investors face in the MENA region, and what governments can do to get investment flowing again to support job creation and recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. Tunisian economy minister Ali Kooli will take part in the launch. Click here to register.

10:00-15:15 Wednesday 31 March: The MENA-OECD Governance Forum “Visions for Recovery” will feature four high-level events, including ‘’Digital Governance and the Rule of Law’’ and “Delivering for the most vulnerable”, which will bring together Ministers, youth and civil society to discuss how governments can better use digital technologies to respond to the COVID-19 crisis and deliver a better recovery for the most vulnerable. This will be preceded by a conference organised by SIGMA on better public service delivery for citizens. Click here and here to register.

13:00-13:10 Thursday 1 April: Tunisian head of government Mr Hichem Mechichi and OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria will discuss the role of the MENA-OECD Initiative on Governance and Competitiveness for Development in the MENA region, some milestones of the Initiative and the critical importance of the partnership between OECD and MENA governments in the post-COVID-19 recovery. Please contact Sophie Elliott to register.