According to the report on MENA and its deteriorating economic performance, it is mainly because of the political and economic reasons that the region experiences. The report does give solutions to the various problems that affect the Middle East and North Africa as trade regions. According to Schiff et al., the region is beginning its activities from scratch because many impediments hinder trading activities from taking place among the member countries and even in the broader global market.
Based on the economic concepts and theories of regional integration and related growth, the economic activities within a region develop and grow in spaces. A good example of a theory or economic concept related to this aspect can be attributed to regional growth and uniform abstract space. In this case, therefore, regional development in the context above is based on the fact that the ability of the local system to recreate after finding a certain role as far as the international division of labor is concerned. In this case, regional development can be attributed to a region’s capacity to produce various types of goods and services with a comparative advantage as they are in demand by the particular nation and the world economic system that it is situated.
Basically, within the uniform abstract model of growth, the assumption is that each economic member is not well endowed. However, they have one thing they can offer in the form of a good or service to ensure the efficiency of the integration. MENA lacks what can be described as cooperation because they have resources and services that it can offer to the world and the local market. Still, political instability and related economic problems have affected the trading spectrum of the member countries. Another problem is over-reliance on one product which is oil. For economic integration to be successful, there has to be cooperation from both the member states.
With the inception of the pandemic, the regional trade block has continued to suffer from various losses. One thing for sure is that overcoming the political challenges that face MENA will not be easy. However, there is a good way to go about such a situation that will also go to an epic of minimizing the tariffs in the region. One of the factors is promoting liberalization to the extent that it will go a long way in serving a good balance as far as political and economic objectives are concerned. This action will be in a bid to ensure that agreements of trade may not fail. Moreover, if a coordination of MENA as far as trade integration is concerned is carried out may make a way in integrating the world value chains.
Source: MENA: Trade and Regional Integration are Critical to Economic Recovery in the Post-Covid Era