Initiative on Good Governance for Development (GfD) in the Arab Countries

Conference on "Good Governance for Development in the Arab Countries" 6-7 February 2005, Dead Sea -The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Preparatory Meetings

In September 2004, ministers and representatives of sixteen Arab countries responded to the invitation of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to meet in Amman to consider the launching of a new regional Arab initiative to enhance good governance for development. At the conclusion of the two-day meeting (25-26 September), the participating countries - Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Oman, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen - endorsed the GfD Initiative and its component themes and accepted in principle the preliminary draft of a Declaration that expresses the solemn commitment of Arab countries to undertake the activities outlined under the different themes. They agreed to officially launch the Initiative and issue the Declaration at a Heads-of-Government conference, under the Royal Patronage of King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. They called on both the UNDP and OECD to provide the needed support.

Earlier meetings:
1. Beirut Meeting October 23 - 24, 2003
2. Istanbul Meeting 10-11 February, 2004
3. Rabat Meeting 29-30 April, 2004

Dead Sea Conference:
The GfD Conference was held at the Dead Sea, Jordan 6-7 February 2005 and attended by over 600 persons. The participating OECD countries were: Australia, Canada, France, Finland, Greece, Holland, Italy, Turkey, Japan, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States and the European Union. Delegations from the Arab countries and sixteen OECD member countries as well as the heads of several Arab and international NGO's and media organizations discussed the contents of the six themes from different perspectives and agreed on a preliminary set of issues which outlined a first assessment of the priorities for activities to be undertaken by the Arab countries at regional and national levels. At the conclusion of the Conference, the Heads of Arab Delegations issued the Declaration that officially launched the Initiative and expressed their collective will to work closely together to effectively implement the implied reforms.