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SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development,
provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels -
SDG 5: GENDER EQUALITY
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
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SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
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SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
Reduce inequality within and among countries
Overview
In 2020, ESCWA, in partnership with United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), launched the Arab Competition Forum, aimed at establishing a continual knowledge-sharing platform on competition policy and enforcement for Arab stakeholders. The Forum is an important platform for advancing advocacy and knowledge, and for building capacity on best practices in competition across the region. The Forum provides a common channel for advancing knowledge and best practices in competition, and facilitating coordination and collaboration at the national, regional, and international levels.
The Fourth Arab Competition Forum is organized by ESCWA, in collaboration with UNCTAD, OECD, and the General Authority for Competition of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (GAC), and other partners. The two-day event will build on the momentum of the previous forums. Competition authorities in member States will benefit from peer learning based on international case studies and best practices provided by their counterparts from different countries.
This year's Forum will focus on discussing mergers and acquisitions, as well as enhancing the effectiveness of competition authorities in developing and least developed countries. In addition, it will examine best practices for planning and conducting market studies as well as concerns arising from abuse of dominance in digital markets.
The objectives of the Fourth Arab Competition Forum for the Arab Region are to:
- Provide a substantive contribution towards improving economic growth and governance in the Arab region, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals
- Strengthen collaboration and coordination between competition authorities in ESCWA member States
- Inform competition policy making and enforcement in the Arab region, guided by international best practices
- Collect concrete recommendations on future activities related to advancing competition policy and enforcement in the Arab region
2. Opening Session
Opening remarks and introductory comments
Ahmed bin Abdul Kareem Al-Kholifey
Chairman of The Board of Directors, The General Authority for Competition, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Dr. Rola Dashti
Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)
Rebeca Grynspan
Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
Carmine Di Noia
Director for Financial and Enterprise Affairs, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
3. Plenary and Thematic Sessions
Day 1
Date and time (Riyadh Time – UTC+3)
Tuesday, 23 May, 10:30am-12:00pm
Session coordinator: ESCWA
Format: Open session / Hybrid
Synopsis: Every competition agency must overcome obstacles to enforce its competition law. But for developing jurisdictions these obstacles are often more acute, numerous and reinforced by challenges specific to these jurisdictions. A lack of a competition culture, or even a hostile environment, created by government, business and society at large can hinder the work of an agency with few resources. Relations with regulators as well as other parts of government can take on a particular complexity when competition authorities are young, lack resources and influence. This lack of resources, along with other institutional design issues, or inadequate legislation can further distance these authorities from success. The session will also discuss the challenges of young authorities, particularly those in developing countries and suggest mechanisms to address these challenges. The panellists will bring international, regional and national perspectives and examples to the discussion.
Moderator
Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Zoom , Chief Executive Officer of The General Authority for Competition, KSA
Speakers
Frederic Jenny , Chairman of the OECD Competition Committee, Emeritus Professor at ESSEC Paris Business School, France
Nathalie Khaled , Coordinator of the competition and consumer protection project, Economic Affairs Officer, ESCWA
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Willard Mwemba , Director, and Chief Executive Officer of the COMESA Competition Commission
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Mahmoud Momtaz, Chairman of the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA), and the President of the Arab Competition Network (ACN)
BabaTunde Irukera , Executive Vice Chairman, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, Nigeria
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Date and time (Riyadh Time – UTC+3)
Tuesday, 23 May, 1:30pm- 3:00 pm
Session coordinator: UNCTAD
Format: Open session / Hybrid
Synopsis: Many digital markets exhibit certain characteristics, such as low variable costs, high fixed costs and strong network effects, that result in high market shares for a small number of firms. In some cases, these lead to “competition for the market” dynamics, in which a single firm captures the vast majority of sales. This session will discuss the main types of abuse of dominance concerns that can emerge in digital markets, what makes these markets unique, and how competition authorities around the world tackled the challenges described above.
Moderator
Teresa Moreira , Head, Competition and Consumer Policies Branch, Division on International Trade and Commodities, UNCTAD
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Speakers
William Kovacic, Professor George Washington University
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Natalie Harsdorf , Acting Director General, Austria Competition Authority
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Uğur Bilgehan Burhan , competition expert in the Supervision and Enforcement Department, Turkish Competition Authority
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Saurabh Mishra , Joint Director (Economics), Competition Commission of India
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Cristina Caffarra , Expert Economist, Keystone Europe, and Visiting Professor UCL London.
Day 2
Date and time (Riyadh Time – UTC+3)
Wednesday, 24 May, 9:00 - 10:30 am
Session coordinator: ESCWA
Format: Open session / Hybrid
Cross-border merger control is complex involving jurisdictional, procedural and substantive issues. These types of mergers raise specific challenges for competition authorities reviewing the transaction in multiple jurisdictions. Most importantly, the countries involved must have effective merger control regimes. For an effective review of cross-border transactions, and to ensure consistent decisions, a high degree of co-ordination and co-operation between the competition authorities involved is essential whether multilateral, regional or bilateral. This session will discuss cross-border merger control and also provide examples of regional efforts.
Moderator
Nathalie Khaled , Coordinator of the competition and consumer protection project, Economic Affairs Officer, ESCWA
Speakers
Paul Lugard , Partner at Baker Botts LLP
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Willard Mwemba , Director, and Chief Executive Officer of the COMESA Competition Commission
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Mohamad cheikhrouho , general rapporteur, Competition Council of Tunisia
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Sabine Zigelski , Senior Case Manager, Bundeskartellamt, Germany
Esteban Greco , Former President, Comisión Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia (CNDC), Argentina, director, GAMES Economics
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Date and time (Riyadh Time – UTC+3)
Wednesday, 24 May, 11:00am - 12:30pm
Session coordinator: OECD
Format: Open session / Hybrid
Synopsis: Markets do not always work efficiently, harming consumers and society. When this happens, competition authorities may seek to better understand the dynamics of competition in a given market or sector, in order to identify the reasons for poor performance and recommend policy options for dealing with them. Market studies usually involve an in-depth assessment of market structures or competitive conditions in a given sector; and aim to detect inefficiencies arising from weak competition, even if they do not identify behaviour violating competition laws. There are conceptual and procedural differences regarding market studies among competition authorities. This session will examine different approaches in identifying target markets, planning and conducting market studies.
Moderator
Lynn Robertson , Competition Expert, OECD
Speakers
Antonio Capobianco , Deputy Head of the OECD Competition Division, OECD
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Hesham Fahad Alogeel , Deputy CEO– Economic Affairs, General Authority for Competition, KSA
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Anaid González Hernández, General coordinator of economic analysis in the General Directorate of Economic Studies, of the Federal Economic Competition Commission, Mexico.
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Ana Sofia Rodrigues , Board Member/Commissioner at the Portuguese Competition Authority
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Benkhelifa Djallal , Rapporteur, Competition Council of Algeria
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Date and time (Riyadh Time – UTC+3)
Wednesday, 24 May, 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Session coordinator: tbd
Format: Closed Session / Hybrid
In this session, competition authorities from member States will present national case studies and/or competition developments since the 3rd Arab Competition Forum, held in May 2022.
Moderator
ESCWA AND GAC
Speakers
Nathalie Khaled , Coordinator of the competition and consumer protection project, Economic Affairs Officer, ESCWA
Presentation download
Teresa Moreira , Head, Competition and Consumer Policies Branch, Division on International Trade and Commodities, UNCTAD
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5. Closing Session
Date and time (Riyadh Time – UTC+3)
Wednesday, 24 May, 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Session coordinator: ESCWA and partners
Format: Open session / Hybrid
During this session, participants will point out the lessons learned, and main intervention areas needed to advance competition in the Arab region. The session strives to bring about an agreement on concrete recommendations for enhancing competition policies and enforcement in member States. ESCWA and its partners will present their plans moving forward, highlighting the important role of international cooperation in improving competition.
Moderator
ESCWA and partners
