Problemi Ekonomiki (Jun 2018)
The Medium-Term Forecast of the Development of Integration among Countries of the Middle East and North Africa
Abstract
The aim of the article is to analyze the current stage in the development of integration among countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Systematizing and summarizing the works dedicated to the problems and prospects of their participation in regional integration groups (RIGs), there considered the possibilities of expanding trade and economic relations, which, together with the participation in the World Trade Organization, have provided an opportunity to forecast further development of foreign trade policies of these countries. As a result of the study, it is revealed that in general, MENA countries have similar development problems, which can be divided into two groups: general economic ones, which are associated with differences in the levels of economic development of Arab countries with different resource support, and institutional ones. It is proved that integration is not sufficiently well established and is still acting as a trend — MENA countries continue to implement various “catch-up” scenarios using traditional directions — access to markets and increased emphasis on trade. There analyzed key priorities of the development strategies of Saudi Arabia (Strategy 2025) and the UAE (Economic Vision of Abu Dhabi 2030), aimed at the modernization of the economies, their complete transition to renewable energies through introducing recent innovations, creation of a competitive private sector, increase of the significance of non-oil sectors of the economy that have competitive advantages. It is determined that the common feature for these strategies is that the main source of the modernization is public finance in the form of holding companies and public-private partnerships using BOT (build-operate-transfer) schemes with the participation of state capital in various sectors and the capabilities of “collaborative institutions”. And in the long run, regional integration will retain its priority over global liberalization. Further research will be related to the attempts of Arab scholars aimed at uniting Islam, the state, and the market economy of the Western type as the main condition for the further development of MENA countries.
