Beirut Meetings Highlight Expansion and Deepening of Economic Linkages in the New Levant

Participants of the ‘New Levant’ Conference would like to extend their gratitude to Government of Lebanon for hosting an important and highly beneficial meeting in Beirut on seeking ways and means to move to a better integrated New Levant Region. The conference is attended by government officials, private sector representatives, international investors, and bilateral and multilateral institutions.

A better integrated New Levant Region would help create the conditions for increased trade and investment in the Levant and put each country on a higher path of growth, job creation, and prosperity.

Participants thank the World Bank for preparing a comprehensive study which served as the main vehicle to advance the discussions on the subject. They understand that this study, entitled “Over the Horizon a New Levant,” has benefited from extensive consultations between the World Bank Team and regional governments as well as from discussions in meetings hosted by the Arab League in Cairo on November 10 -13, 2013, and attended by both officials from the Levant and Maghreb countries and various private sector organizations.

The participants note that a strong declaration of the desire to remove obstacles to free trade and mobility of economic factors in the New Levant Region has already been made on June 10, 2010 in Istanbul.

They also note that the policy dialogue to achieve the objectives of the Istanbul Declaration has been adversely affected by the political events in the region. Yet, various stakeholders in the region have not stopped seeking appropriate policies to facilitate increased economic and financial linkages. In this respect, the World Bank study provides a framework to reflect on the scope of a more integrated Levant economic zone, including the regional dynamics of some specific sectors. The participants welcome these efforts and lend their support for the implementation phase.

The participants took stock of technical work which was presented and discussed during these meetings and conducted a series of official discussions on the subject matter. Subsequently, they have reached the following decisions:

a) It is in the interest of all the countries to establish more integrated markets in the region which are competitive and free from undue interventions with a view to establishing the free movement of labor, capital, and goods and services across the region in the long run.

b) The ultimate goal of more integrated regional markets and deeper economic linkages is to improve living standards for all and thus helping the region to become more prosperous and peaceful.

c) The efforts to achieve the objectives stated above must take into account existing international commitments of the countries as well as ongoing various bilateral and multilateral processes such as the ones with the European Union at different levels, including the prospects of Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements with the EU.

d) Private sector organizations, bilateral and multilateral institutions must cooperate and be supported in their efforts to enhance economic ties in the region. In this respect, the formation of the Levant Private Sector Network will be critical to foster deeper ties among the private sector firms in the region.

e) Specific actions must be taken to move toward a more integrated region. In this respect, a specific action plan was endorsed. These actions will be implemented with close coordination and consultation with the Levant Private Sector Network and its specialized committees.

f) The region needs substantial investment in improving infrastructure. In this respect, several projects have been identified, and noted in the action plan, in transport, energy and communication sectors.

g) The need to improve human resource pool of the region is also recognized. The initiatives to improve the size and the quality of this pool must be supported by all stakeholders, governments, private sector, civil society and educational institutions.

h) Periodic joint reviews of the progress and the impact of the changing conditions on the action plan will be assessed and any modifications which may become necessary will be adopted. The results of these reviews will be shared by the public-at-large.

Participants agreed that they will reconvene in Istanbul in September 2014 to take stock of the progress made and agree on the next steps to further advance the prospects of a more integrated New Levant region.