![[Egypt] UNCTAD, Competition Authority launch training centre to boost knowledge base of agencies](Images/2018/08/unctad.png)
[Egypt] UNCTAD, Competition Authority launch training centre to boost knowledge base of agencies
Implementing competition law and policy has an increasingly regional flavour as countries navigate the complex globalized world.
In a move to improve the knowledge base of competition agencies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, UNCTAD and Egypt’s Competition Authority launched a regional Training Centre for Competition in Cairo, Egypt in November.
Straight after launching, the centre hosted its first set of training on International Competition Law and Compliance.
“There is a regional need for a common understanding of what competition is and how to enforce it,” said Teresa Moreira, UNCTAD’s head of competition and consumer policies.
“The new UNCTAD MENA Competition Training Centre is a milestone. It will not only serve as a platform for learning, but also regional integration and regular exchange between competitions authorities in seven countries.”
Representatives from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and the State of Palestine will benefit from the training on competition law and economic issues.
“The courses also cover current trends influencing competition law, including the relationship between competition and regulation and enforcement challenges in the context of the digital economy,” said Ms. Moreira.
The chairman of Egypt’s Competition Authority, Dr. Amil Nabil, said the centre would deepen regional cooperation. It would also both raise and level agencies’ capacities, he said.
There are now four such centres across the MENA region. Egypt hosts two of them, one dedicated to consumer protection matters and this new centre, focused on competition law and policy. Both run courses in English.
The new competition centre complements the existing Tunis Regional Training Centre for Competition, which provides the training in French.
There is also a consumer protection training centre in Lebanon.
“The opening of the UNCTAD MENA Competition Training Centre completes the platforms established for the strengthening of capacities on competition and consumer protection in the MENA region,” said Ms. Moreira.
The new centre delivered its first course, on International Competition Law and Compliance, in collaboration with the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) School of Management and Law over 19-22 November.
ZHAW is one of the largest universities in Switzerland and is renowned for its expertise in competition policy, law and economics, and international trade.
It shares this expertise as part of its North-South corporate social responsibility efforts.
The workshop gathered representatives of competition agencies, government bodies and sectoral regulators, and consumer and business organizations.
The project is made possible within the framework of the UNCTAD MENA Programme, supported by the Government of Sweden.
The UNCTAD MENA Programme aims to promote regional economic integration through the adoption of competition and consumer protection legislation and policies, gender equality, anti-corruption and good governance in the region.
