Regional Workshop For Parliamentarians From Mashreq And Maghreb Countries (O-PARL) Salmiya, Hawalli

Course details

Target Audience:

Parliamentarians from: Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, West Bank and Gaza, and Yemen.

Qualification:

Participants are expected to be dealing with economics, budget and some trade related issues within their own constituency.

Language:

The workshop is conducted in Arabic.

Workshop Description:

Parliamentarians have a constitutional role to play in the macroeconomic decision making process. They review and ratify major economic policies and ensure their implementation through domestic legislation and appropriate budgetary allocations.  Parliamentarians can also play a wider advocacy role explaining the workings and benefits of undertaken economic policies, including raising awareness and fostering informed debate about government courses of action. 

This high-level workshop, presented by the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department (MCD), the IMF-Middle East Center for Economics and Finance (CEF), and the WTO aims at exposing parliamentarians to the role of IMF and WTO in the region and explaining the economic policies recommended by the IMF. The workshop provides a forum for parliamentarians to exchange views on their experiences in economic policies, including emerging challenges and issues. A distinctive feature of this event is the combination of lectures and hands-on workshops and case studies conducted in an interactive style where a frank discussion revolving around key macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform policies and challenges facing officials is encouraged—this includes topics in sustainable and inclusive growth, energy subsidy, labor policies in improving job opportunities, private sector-led growth, and managing [natural] resource wealth. Finally, it is hoped that by equipping parliamentarians with a better understanding of the economic analysis leading to policy action, we can further assist parliamentarians perform their duties more effectively. 

Objectives

•  Foster greater understanding of, and interest in, the economic issues related to the region;
•  Familiarize participants with the  macroeconomic analysis and policy tools underpinning Fund’s core surveillance and program activities;
•   Provide a forum for participants to discuss and exchange views on socio-economic- and development-related issues of particular relevance to the Arab region;
•  Encourage an informed and open debate on the potential role of the IMF and WTO in fostering sound policies leading to sustainable economic growth and development.