Acknowledging the importance of an inclusive whole-of-society strategy to tackle corruption efficiently, the MENA-OECD Competitiveness Programme has adopted a multi-stakeholder approach to anti-corruption, facilitating dialogue across all relevant actors, and leveraging OECD tools and collective action led by the private sector. Through both its regional platform – the MENA-OECD Business Integrity Network – and its country-specific projects, the Programme has established itself as a pivotal partner in supporting the implementation of effective and inclusive national anti-corruption strategies in the region, and creating an environment conducive to private sector development.
Business Integrity
In the MENA region, countries have made the fight against corruption a priority, tightening their legislative arsenals in this area and adopting strategies to combat corruption. Fighting corruption is increasingly becoming a business decision, with companies mobilised to implement actions to strengthen business integrity to complement measures taken by public authorities.
About
Programme activities
The Fair Market Conditions for Competitiveness Project is supported by the Siemens Initiative for Integrity and aims to support 6 countries, including Algeria, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
This project aims to support efforts in the areas of anti-corruption and fair competition through the promotion of international standards and the adoption of a multi-stakeholder approach. Activities focus on the creation of a Collective Action community that involves all relevant actors, including the private sector, academia and civil society representatives and targeting strategic economic sectors particularly exposed to corruption risks. Furthermore, through workshops and activities with universities and academic institutions, the Project promotes the latest knowledge on international standards and practices in the area of anti-corruption and integrity for competitiveness in academic curricula.
This Project, supported by GiZ, aimed to assist governmental institutions and representatives from the electricity sector to fight corruption and promote integrity. The Project:
- Contributed to a more transparent business climate though public and private integrity actions.
- Raised awareness of both government officials and private sector representatives on OECD recognized integrity norms and standards to combat corruption and their related tools.
- Supported capacity building of different government institutions concerning the economic impact of bribery and the implementation of anticorruption measures.
- Identified corruption risks and anti-corruption needs and priorities in the electricity sector by engaging in extensive consultations with all private and public sector stakeholders (e.g. using surveys and awareness raising events).
- Promoted the development of voluntary compliance tools and collective actions to fight corruption.
The Morocco and Egypt Country Programmes both comprise important anti-corruption projects aiming to bolster alignment of both countries with OECD norms and standards, including the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. Leveraging legal and policy analysis, peer learning and dialogue, there projects are key to ensure that policy reforms are anchored reforms in OECD standards and best practices.
The EU-OECD Project on Promoting Economic Resilience in Yemen also comprises a component on anti-corruption which aims to enhance multi-stakeholder dialogue in the area of anti-corruption and business integrity in the private sector with a focus on sectors considered to be particularly exposed to corruption risks.
One unique regional platform
The MENA-OECD Business Integrity Network (MOBIN) is a unique regional platform working to promote business integrity in the region. It brings together regional businesses and public anti-corruption officials to build awareness about the need to fight corruption and develop a culture of integrity by:
- Providing a dialogue platform for MENA and OECD private and public-sector representatives to share experiences, tools, and best practices.
- Promoting OECD tools and standards, and bolstering convergence of MENA economies with internationally recognized integrity norms and standards
- Applying the OECD working methods of evidence-based policy dialogue, peer reviews, and mutual learning, in its activities.
- Engaging key regional stakeholders in OECD initiatives such as the OECD Global Network of Law Enforcement Practitioners against Transactional Bribery (GLEN) and the annual OECD Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum (GACIF)
Events
- 01-03 October 2024 | OECD-Siemens Project on Fair Market Conditions for Competitiveness in Saudi Arabia - First series of business integrity workshops and roundtables, Riyadh
- 02-03 July 2024 | MENA-OECD Business Integrity Network Annual Meeting, Rabat
- April 2024 | OECD-Siemens Project on Fair Market Conditions for Competitiveness in Algeria - Final series of business integrity workshops and roundtables, Algiers
- 05-06 June 2023 | GIZ-OECD Project on Fighting Corruption and Promoting Business Integrity in the Electricity Sector – Second capacity Building Seminar, Istanbul
- 23 May 2023 | MENA-OECD Business Integrity Network Annual Meeting, Paris
- 30 Jan-2 Feb 2023 | OECD-IMF CEF Training Course: Boosting corruption detection in the MENA region, Kuwait