UNCTAD and the Ministry of Business and Trade, State of Qatar organized a regional workshop for Gulf States and a national workshop on competition law enforcement, back-to-back on 16-18 April 2012 in Doha.
UNCTAD and the Ministry of Business and Trade, State of Qatar organized a regional workshop for Gulf States and a national workshop on competition law enforcement, back-to-back on 16-18 April 2012 in Doha. During consultations with participants, UNCTAD identified the technical assistance and capacity building needs of Gulf States in competition law enforcement. This will establish the basis for further cooperation between UNCTAD and the Gulf countries in this area.
The main objective of the workshop was to discuss competition law enforcement issues and to identify areas of cooperation at the bilateral and regional level, which would establish the basis for technical assistance and capacity building by UNCTAD and development partners. Participants included representatives from four countries from the Gulf region, including Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, as well as Austria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey. Heads of competition authorities and officials from relevant Ministries discussed the role of competition law and policy in economic development and consumer protection and addressed the challenges faced in competition law enforcement.
The workshop included three sessions. The first two sessions, held on 16-17 April, included presentations from competition experts and UNCTAD staff members on various competition issues ranging from anti-competitive agreements to institutional design, as well as interactive discussion on several case studies. On the third day, participants held consultations and expressed their technical assistance and capacity building needs in the area of competition law enforcement, both at the national and regional level. The needs assessment done during the Workshop will establish the basis for further cooperation between UNCTAD and the Gulf countries in this area.
