The National Anti-Corruption Academy hosted a regional meeting on "Enhancing Business Integrity and Partnership between the Public and Private Sectors in the MENA Region" during the period from January 14 to 16, 2025 in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the League of Arab States and the Palestinian Anti-Corruption Commission. The meeting aimed to discuss means to support the role of the private sector in combating corruption and improving the business environment in partnership with the government sector.
The meeting sessions witnessed the participation of Ms. Cristina Albertin, Regional UNODC Representative in MENA Region; Minister Plenipotentiary Dr. Maha Bakhit, Director of the Legal Affairs Department, General Secretariat of the League of Arab States; and Ms. Rasha Amarneh, Advisor to the Chairman of the Palestinian Anti-Corruption Commission. This is in addition to representatives of anti-corruption agencies, international and regional organizations, relevant experts and leaders of the National Anti-Corruption Academy.
The meeting included several panel discussions on the importance of developing public-private partnerships to improve the business environment, the main incentives to promote the role of the private sector in combating corruption, as well as how to benefit from corruption risk assessment tools. It also highlighted common challenges and how to surmount them, and presentation of the most prominent international initiatives to improve the investment climate through adoption of effective governance systems and promotion of transparency and accountability.
The meeting also yielded several outcomes, including an agreement to support the public-private partnership in terms of enhancing integrity and anti-corruption standards; expanding the scope of electronic services and reducing paper transactions; activating international cooperation frameworks and exchange of experience to strengthen technical support between the relevant authorities and international institutions. This is in addition to enhancing periodic dialogue between anti-corruption agencies and private sector institutions; encouraging the establishment of investment support units in anti-corruption agencies to examine and resolve the investors’ complaints and facilitate removal of obstacles to investment projects. This further includes support of scientific research in the field of governance and combating corruption in public and private sectors.
This meeting comes in light of the 5th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Arab Anti-Corruption Convention. It aims to exchange insights and draw a joint roadmap towards improving the business environment to achieve economic and social development in our societies.