Improving competition and protecting consumers

Competition promotes job creation, poverty reduction and sustainable development in the Arab region. Competition also supports consumer welfare by protecting consumers from abuses of market power and unfair commercial practices. The Arab region needs effective competition and consumer protection laws and policies and strong institutions to enhance the business environment, attract investment and improve economic performance and growth.

Our approach

ESCWA promotes dynamic markets and facilitates cooperation among Member States, regional entities and other partners working in the field of competition and consumer protection. ESCWA also facilitates regional capacity-building through the annual Competition Forum for the Arab Region, a central platform for knowledge exchange. ESCWA strengthens harmonized national competition reforms in line with international standards while considering global economic trends and challenges to establish a regional competition framework that reflects the development needs of the region and contributes to the modernization of Arab trade integration to inclusive, sustainable development and growth.

Our partners

• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
• League of Arab States
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
• Competition authorities in Member States.

Our activities

ESCWA established the Arab Legislative Portal to support Member States in sharing information and resources. The portal includes the results of the legislative assessment that ESCWA updates regularly. The portal aims to demonstrate the extent to which Arab legislative framework is close to international standards.

ESCWA publishes research and develops materials on competition and consumer protection. The Arab Business Legislative Frameworks report is a holistic assessment that ESCWA established to assess the gaps and strengths of the legislative framework in the Arab countries. The report results show the strengths and weaknesses in Arab competition and consumer protection laws.

ESCWA organizes the Arab Annual Competition Forum in collaboration with partners and provides the forum with technical materials. ESCWA contributes to UNCTAD ministerial meetings, the OECD Global Forum on Competition and many other competition-related regional and international events to increase information sharing.

ESCWA produces a compilation of resources designed specifically for the Arab region, including publications, policy briefs, background notes, knowledge materials, platforms and tools. They serve as essential tools for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners seeking to implement positive changes within their respective fields. These resources include:

• Competition and socioeconomic policy
• Competition in the online market: e-commerce and digitalization
• Assessment of institutional capacity in competition
• Competition law and policy and SMEs
• Competition provisions in trade agreements in the Arab region
• Enhancing the effectiveness of competition authorities in developing and least developed countries
• Abuse of dominance in digital markets
• Cross-border merger control
• A guide to market studies: insights and approaches
• Competition policy and market environment
• Convergence and cooperation between Arab competition authorities
• Competition and industrial policies in the Arab region
• The promotion of competitive neutrality by competition authorities
• Competition advocacy