Organizations
Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development
The Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, based in the State of Kuwait and operating since 1972, is an Arab regional financial institution focused on funding economic and social development by financing public and private investment projects and providing grants and expertise.
Arab Monetary Fund
The Arab Monetary Fund is a Regional Arab Organization that was founded in 1976 and started operations in 1977. The AMF aims at correcting disequilibria in the balance of payments of its member states (the 22 Arab countries), removing restrictions on current payments between member states, establishing policies and modes of Arab monetary cooperation, advising with regard to policies related to the investment of the financial resources in foreign markets, promoting the development of Arab financial markets, creating a unified Arab currency, and promoting trade among member states.
Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank was conceived in the early 1960s as a financial institution that would be Asian in character and foster economic growth and cooperation in one of the poorest regions in the world. As a multilateral development finance institution, ADB provides loans, technical assistance and grants. ADB operations are designed to support the three complementary agendas of inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration.
Bank for International Settlements
Established in 1930, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is the world’s oldest international financial organization. The BIS has 60 member central banks, representing countries from around the world that together make up about 95% of world GDP. The mission of the BIS is to serve central banks in their pursuit of monetary and financial stability, to foster international cooperation in those areas and to act as a bank for central banks. Monetary and financial stability is a precondition for sustained economic growth and prosperity. Reflecting the public good character of this goal, the BIS also makes part of its work available free of charge to the wider public, including its own analyses of monetary and financial stability issues and international banking and financial statistics that underpin policymaking, academic research and public debate.
Brookings
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC. Their mission is to conduct in-depth research that leads to new ideas for solving problems facing society at the local, national and global level. Their work includes a special focus on the Middle East, providing periodic publications and analysis on the region.
Carnegie Middle East Center
The Carnegie Middle East Center is an independent policy research institute based in Beirut, Lebanon, and part of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The center provides in-depth analysis of the political, socioeconomic, and security issues facing the Middle East and North Africa. It draws its scholarship from a pool of top regional experts, working in collaboration with Carnegie’s other research centers in Beijing, Brussels, Moscow, New Delhi, and Washington.
Chatham House
Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, is an independent policy institute based in London. Their mission is to help build a sustainably secure, prosperous and just world. Chatham House carries out independent and rigorous analysis of critical global, regional and country-specific challenges and opportunities. Chatham House research on Middle East and North Africa focuses on latest political, economic and security developments in the region. Projects on the MENA region include work on future trends in the GCC, regional approaches to the Middle East peace process, Syria and its neighbors and the Yemen forum.
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and students, civic and religious leaders, and other interested citizens in order to help them better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries. It publishes regular analysis reports on the Middle East and Central Asia region.
Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
The Economic Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) was established in 1973 as one of the five regional commissions that were created by the United Nations in order to fulfil the economic and social goals set out in the Charter by promoting cooperation and integration between countries in each region of the world. ESCWA provides a framework for the formulation and harmonization of sectoral policies for member countries, a platform for congress and coordination, a home for expertise and knowledge, and an information observatory. ESCWA comprises 18 Arab countries: Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, The United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Economic Research Forum
The Economic Research Forum (ERF) is a regional network based in Cairo, Egypt, dedicated to promoting high quality economic research to contribute to sustainable development in the Arab countries, Iran and Turkey. Established in 1993, ERF’s core objectives are to build strong research capacity in the ERF region; to lead and support the production of independent, high quality economic research; and to disseminate research output to a wide and diverse audience.
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was founded in 1991 to create a new post-Cold War era in central and eastern Europe, furthering progress towards market-oriented economies and the promotion of private and entrepreneurial initiative. Owned by 63 countries and two intergovernmental institutions, the EBRD maintains a close political dialogue with governments, authorities and representatives of civil society to promote its goals.
European Council on Foreign Relations
In 2011, the European Council on Foreign Relations launched its Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Program in response to the dramatic protest movements that swept across the Arab world. The MENA Program seeks to contribute to a new set of North Africa and Middle East policies that support the democratic momentum in the region; transform conflict and security debates to de-escalate crises and where possible drive peace-building solutions; reset EU-MENA relations; guide EU member states in their pursuit of the new opportunities created by change; and see EU member states play a more active diplomatic problem-solving role. The MENA Program places priority on generating timely, informed, and provocative analysis that tackles the drivers of political tension, instability, and potential violence in a highly volatile region that faces diverse and dramatic political, economic, demographic, and environmental shifts in the short and medium term. The analysis and policy recommendations, distributed widely and available to the public on the ECFR MENA website, take the form of Publications, the MENA Blog, videos, and podcasts.
European Investment Bank
The Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership (FEMIP) brings together under one roof the whole range of instruments implemented by the European Investment Bank in support of economic development in the Mediterranean partner countries: Algeria, Egypt, West Bank and Gaza, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, and Tunisia. Operational since October 2002, FEMIP is now the key player in the financial partnership between Europe and the Mediterranean.
Femise
The Forum Euroméditerranéen des Instituts de Sciences Économiques (the Euro-Mediterranean Forum of Institutes of Economic Sciences), is a Euromed network established in 2005 as a Non-Governmental Organization. The network gathers more than 90 members of economic research institutes, representing the 37 partners of the Barcelona Process. FEMISE is coordinated by the Economic Research Forum (ERF), Egypt and Institut de la Méditerranée (IM), France. Its objective is to reinforce dialogue between stakeholders and conduct research on priority EuroMed issues.
Global Development Network
GDN’s mission is to support high-quality, policy oriented research in the social sciences in developing countries to promote development and better lives. It is a global research entrepreneur that promotes research to inform development policy and debate. Formed in 1999 as a unit of the World Bank, GDN became independent in 2001, and is now a public international organization. GDN is headquartered in New Delhi, with an office in Washington DC, and a global network in over 80 countries. GDN works in collaboration with 10 Regional Network Partners, international donor organizations and governments, research institutes, academic institutions, think tanks and more than 12,500 individual researchers worldwide.
Institut de Recherche sur le Maghreb Contemporain
Founded in 1992, the Research Institute on Contemporary Maghreb aims to contribute to the renewal of the French research in the humanities and social sciences on the Maghreb in collaboration with universities and researchers from the region: Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Libya and Mauritania.
International Development Research Center
For more than 40 years, IDRC has helped researchers and innovators find ways to improve health, reduce poverty, and promote democracy in the area. Their programming is designed to bring together the right partners for the most impact, in areas such as social and economic policy, the environment, politics and governance, information and communication technologies, and knowledge creation. Located in Cairo, Egypt, the regional office coordinates the work in 10 countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia and West Banka and Gaza.
International Finance Corporation
IFC was founded on the idea that the private sector is essential to development. They now reach millions of people in more than 100 countries, creating jobs, raising living standards, and building a better future to support the World Bank Group’s two goals: ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. IFC blends investment with advice and resource mobilization to help the private sector advance development. IFC supports the MENA region’s private sector, a potentially bountiful source of jobs and innovation. They support investments in power and renewable energy, help expand access to finance, and promoted entrepreneurship.
International Labor Organization
The only tripartite UN agency, since 1919 the ILO brings together governments, employers and workers representatives of 187 member States, to set labor standards, develop policies and devise programs promoting decent work for all women and men.
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 189 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world. Created in 1945, the IMF is governed by and accountable to the 189 countries that make up its near-global membership.
International Monetary Fund Forum
The forum is a blog of events, topics, statements, research and studies made by the IMF that are translated in Arabic.
Islamic Development Bank
The Islamic Development Bank is an international financial institution operating since 1975. The purpose of the Bank is to foster the economic development and social progress of member countries and Muslim communities individually as well as jointly in accordance with the principles of Shari’ah i.e., Islamic Law. The present membership of the Bank consists of 56 countries, including all Arab countries. The Bank’s principal office is in Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
London School of Economics Middle East Centre
The LSE Middle East Centre builds on LSE’s long engagement with the Middle East and North Africa and provides a central hub for the wide range of research on the region carried out at LSE. The Middle East Centre works to enhance understanding and develop rigorous research on the societies, economies, politics and international relations of the region. The Centre promotes both specialized knowledge and public understanding of this crucial area and has outstanding strengths in interdisciplinary research and in regional expertise. As one of the world’s leading social science institutions, LSE comprises departments covering all branches of the social sciences. The Middle East Centre harnesses this expertise to promote innovative multidisciplinary research and understanding of the region.
Middle East Economic Association
The MEEA is a private, non-profit, non-political organization of scholars interested in the study of the economies and economics of the Middle East. Its objectives are the promotion of high standard scholarship, the facilitation of communication among scholars through meetings and publications, and the promotion of cooperation among persons and organizations committed to the objectives of MEEA.
OPEC Fund for International Development
The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) is the development finance institution established by the Member States of OPEC in 1976 as a collective channel of aid to the developing countries. OFID works in cooperation with developing country partners and the international donor community to stimulate economic growth and alleviate poverty in all disadvantaged regions of the world. It does this by providing financing to build essential infrastructure, strengthen social services delivery and promote productivity, competitiveness and trade.
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
The mission of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. The OECD provides a forum in which governments can work together to share experiences and seek solutions to common problems. They work with governments to understand what drives economic, social and environmental change. They measure productivity and global flows of trade and investment. They analyze and compare data to predict future trends. They set international standards on a wide range of things, from agriculture and tax to the safety of chemicals. They also look at issues that directly affect everyone’s daily life, like how much people pay in taxes and social security, and how much leisure time they can take. They compare how different countries’ school systems are readying their young people for modern life, and how different countries’ pension systems will look after their citizens in old age.
Review of Middle East Economics and Finance
Review of Middle East Economics and Finance (RMEEF) is a peer-reviewed journal addressing applied original research in the fields of economics and finance pertaining to the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa), including Turkey and Iran. The journal also welcomes submissions that deal with the economies of neighboring countries and/or the relationship and interactions between those economies and the MENA region. Topic areas encompass: Monetary and fiscal policies, Political economy, Poverty and income distribution, Labor and welfare economics, International and regional trade and finance, Financial markets and institutions, Business cycles, financial instability and crisis, Economic Development and Change. It is sponsored by the Lebanese American University.
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
UN DESA is a vital interface between global policies in the economic, social and environmental spheres and national action. Its work is guided by the universal, integrated and transformative 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, along with a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 associated targets adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 25 September 2015. Based at UN Headquarters in New York, UN DESA holds up the development pillar of the UN Secretariat. Its nine Divisions work together towards a common goal to promote development.
World Bank
The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. They are not a bank in the ordinary sense but a unique partnership to reduce poverty and support development. Established in 1944, the World Bank Group is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. It was established in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The Forum strives in all its efforts to demonstrate entrepreneurship in the global public interest while upholding the highest standards of governance.
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business.
