Special Economic Zones in the OIC Region:
Learning from Experience
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deep knowledge of the country’s economic challenges, policies legislation and economic
development projects. They suggest that a suitable working group could include:
 At least one astute political and policy “power-broker” or “insider,” for instance (but not
necessarily) from the office of the Head-of-State or Head-of-Government;
 At least one relatively successful representative of the private sector, actually engaged
in business as opposed to simply on the executive of a chamber of commerce, and
engaged in a competitive market (as opposed to a monopolistic or oligarchic one); and
 At least one senior, seasoned Civil Service technocrat (ideally at the Cabinet or
Permanent Secretary level), in (or retired from) a Ministry interacting with business,
accustomed to confronting the limits of what Government actually can and cannot
accomplish.
It is also advocated that the establishment of Working Groups be aided by international experts
in a facilitation role.
Examples from OIC Member Countries
Jordan - Aqaba
As was in the case of Aqaba SEZ, the creation of a SEZ working group attached to the Presidency
or the Office of the Prime Minister helped to ensure that the group retained autonomy
throughout the planning and development process of the SEZ programme.
6.2.3 Legal and Regulatory Framework
When determining the legal framework, consideration should be given to what extent a SEZ law
is required and whether regulations, legislative amendments or a contract law or concession
could offer similar benefits. The key benefits to avoiding the creation of an SEZ law is time, given
laws can take many years to be passed.
In designing the legal and regulatory framework it is key to define how the SEZ programme will
be governed and how investors will be attracted and serviced. In broad terms, careful
consideration should be given to development of a legal and regulatory framework that
genuinely creates a ‘special’ economic operating environment and that is clearly differentiated
from the normal economy of the country. This should not mean ‘compensating’ for weaknesses
in the wider economy, but should involve establishment of an extra-territorial area that provides
truly beneficial investment and trading conditions and is fully complementary to the country’s
forward strategy for economic growth.