The MENA Countries and the Uruguay Round and Beyond

The paper aims to identify the interests and concerns of MENA countries in the new round of multilateral trade negotiations (the WTO 2000 negotiations) with a view of helping these countries develop negotiation objectives and strategies. The introduction sets the stage by making the case for economic reforms in the MENA region and the role of the WTO in supporting these reforms. After dealing with market access issues for MENA countries' exports, the paper looks into the commitments in services MENA countries have undertaken in the context of Uruguay Round Agreements and considers issues related to FDI.