Governments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have faced several cross-cutting global issues in the last decade, including climate change and digital transformation, in addition to challenges related to the political, social, economic and security context in the region. These challenges have triggered public governance reforms to build sustainable and resilient administrations that better meet development objectives and citizens’ expectations. The challenges faced and progress made in reforms vary significantly across countries and territories, with some Gulf countries performing similarly to OECD Member countries. However, according to most indicators, the MENA region overall has lost ground in the last 10 years in terms of good governance. Data show that citizens’ trust in government and public institutions has consistently decreased since 2016 (despite a rise after 2011), and most countries and territories in the region have made little progress towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 on Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.
To support and scale up reforms, this Report describes developments in key public governance areas over the past decade and discusses MENA governments’ strategic commitments, governance arrangements, capacities and practices to implement public governance reforms across 4 main objectives: (1) fostering sustainable growth; (2) spending public resources efficiently; (3) delivering public services effectively; and (4) promoting open and inclusive societies. Recognising MENA governments’ different rates of advancement in public governance reforms, the Report provides general strategic orientations and identifies areas of opportunity that can be adapted to different contexts, needs and priorities. Special attention is given to building the capacity of governments to address the needs of vulnerable groups and to use the green and digital transformations to ensure inclusive and sustainable prosperity in the region, in line with priorities of work already identified by OECD and MENA stakeholders.
The Report is part of the Programme of Work 2023-2024 of the OECD and of the MENA-OECD Governance Programme in support of public sector efficiency in the MENA region. In line with the strategic priorities of the MENA-OECD Governance Programme and the OECD Public Governance Directorate, the Report helps identify key issues and lessons learnt to support public sector reforms to unlock social and economic development and meet citizen’s growing expectations in terms of quality services, inclusive policymaking and transparency in the MENA region.
The Report draws on bilateral and regional reviews, projects and exchanges in the framework of the MENA-OECD Governance Programme and its working groups, as well as OECD standards and best practices in public governance.
It aims to inform discussions and promote peer learning on public governance reforms in the MENA region. It will also inform the preparation of the next mandate (2026-2030) of the MENA-OECD Initiative on Governance and Competitiveness for Development, providing a solid basis for discussions to identify the needs and opportunities of support for good governance in each country and territory, based on governments’ current efforts and challenges.
The Report was produced within the framework of Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation support to the MENA-OECD Governance Programme. The regional project COVID-19 Response and Recovery in the MENA region, implemented from 2021 to 2023, supported MENA governments in their efforts to respond and recover from the COVID-19 crisis and to enhance their resilience to future shocks, with a focus on young people and women. It was implemented by the OECD Development Centre, the MENA-OECD Governance Programme in the OECD Public Governance Directorate, and the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration. The Report will also inform future activities of the OECD Training Centre on Public Governance in Caserta (Italy), which is a hub for sharing knowledge and building capacities among policy practitioners in the MENA region, as well as Sub-Saharan Africa and the Western Balkans.