Improving Transnational Transport Corridors
In the OIC Member Countries: Concepts and Cases
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Jordan, the standards required for entry to the list, and the penalties for non-compliance, are
too low for the lists to be acceptable to other countries.
Harmonization of standards for imported goods
Harmonization of standards for imported goods between Mashreq North-South Corridor
countries is weak, with widely different acceptance of quality certificates issued by
laboratories and agencies in other countries.
4.8.5. Social factors
Social and economic inequalities remain among the most pressing developmental issues for
the Mashreq North-South Corridor region. These inequalities are indicated by the large and
persistent disparities that exist in ownership and control of economic wealth, access to
resources and markets, and the exercise of political power. They are found both within and
between states, and have profound and complex connections to violence and conflict. This
contribution examines some of the quantitative and qualitative trends in inequality for the
Arab world, and explores their relationship to contemporary political dynamics.
The corridor countries are mostly Arabic speaking and Islamic, thus having a common culture
and language should facilitate regional integration. The population, unemployment and HDI for
the corridor countries are given in The HDIs of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey are
similar. A wide disparity is shown between these countries and Syria and Yemen. The low HDIs
of these two countries are most likely caused by political conflicts. Without considering this
situation, it might be expected that as integration progresses overall standards of living will
improve. Improving physical transport infrastructure is a driver for increased trade and
foreign investments, which ultimately reduce unemployment and results in poverty reduction.
Table 65: Social factors of corridor countries
Source: World Bank.
4.8.6. Safety, security and the legal liability
Considering the recent war-torn images of the Middle East as gripped by instability, it is worth
saying that the countries in Mashreq North-South Corridor region, especially Syria and Yemen,
are struggling with security that hampers the functioning of corridor to promote trade.
In terms of road safety, the actual number of crashes specifically on the corridor is not known,
though national road safety figures will be available but are of no real relevance to this study.
Country
Population
(Million)
Unemployment
(%)
Poverty Index
(%)
JOR 7.6 13.2 0.74
SAUDI 31.5 5.5 0.84
SYR 18.5 14.3 0.54
TURKEY 78.7 10.3 0.77
YEMEN 26.8 17.1 0.48