3.2.4. Barriers to Economic Growth, SME Development and Exports....................................43 3.3. MENA Countries .....................................................................................................................45 3.3.1. General Conditions.........................................................................................................45 3.3.2. Interdependencies in the MENA region .........................................................................51 3.3.3. SMEs in the MENA Region ...........................................................................................52 3.3.4. Barriers to Economic Growth, SME Development and Exports in MENA Countries ..54 3.4. Asian OICs...............................................................................................................................57 3.4.1. General Conditions.........................................................................................................57 3.4.2. Interdependencies ...........................................................................................................61 3.4.3. SMEs in OIC Asia ..........................................................................................................61 3.4.4. SME and Exports in Asian OICs....................................................................................62 3.4.5. Barriers to Economic Growth, SME Development and Exports in Asian OICs ............62 3.5. Barriers to SME development and exports in OIC countries: a summary ...............................63 CHAPTER 4. SME EXPORT PROMOTION POLICIES IN OIC MEMBER COUNTRIES: HIGHLIGHTS 4.1 Promoting intra-OIC trade: COMCEC Strategy...........................................................................65 4.2 SME export promotion policies in OIC Member Countries .........................................................66 4.2.1 Policy approaches...................................................................................................................66 4.2.2 Key institutions: the role of Trade Promotion Organisations (TPOs) ....................................69 4.2.3 Policy measures and tools ......................................................................................................74 4.2.3.1 Access to markets ............................................................................................................74 4.2.3.2 Skills development ..........................................................................................................75 4.2.3.3 Access to finance and credit export guarantees ...............................................................76 4.2.3.4 Clustering and access to technology and innovation .......................................................78 CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY CONSIDERATIONS 5.1 Intra-OIC trade and SMEs ............................................................................................................79 5.2 Barriers to SME development and exports ...................................................................................79 5.3 Policy Recommendations .............................................................................................................80 5.4 Evaluation of SMEexport-support policies: a framework for further study .................................83 REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................................85