Within the framework of SESRIC’s Competition Authorities Capacity Building Programme (CA-CaB), SESRIC, in collaboration with the Turkish Competition Authority (TCA), organised a Workshop on “Competition vs. Regulation and the Appropriate Organisational Structure of a Competition Agency” on 06-07 April 2021 through an online video conferencing platform.

The workshop brought together 78 experts and executives from 16 OIC member countries and 1 regional organisation namely; Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Malaysia, Pakistan, Qatar, Sudan, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and ECOWAS. Various topics related to competition law and policy were discussed with the main aim of sharing country experiences and best practices towards the enhancement of intra-OIC cooperation and dialogue in the field of competition.

The general objectives of the Workshop were to better understand:

• Benefits of competition for the economy with regards to firms as well as consumers,
• Ways and means of implementing competition rules in order to achieve full benefits of a free market system,
• Requirements and conditions that lead to the regulation of a market/ industry,
• The right balance between competition rules and regulation,
• Effective ways and mechanisms to organise a Competition Agency.

In his speech at the opening session, H.E. Mr. Nebil DABUR, Director General of SESRIC, highlighted the critical role competition authorities play in enforcing competition law in the market which contributes to the economic development of a country. Mentioning the limitations and challenges faced by some member countries in this field, he stressed the necessities for enhancing intra-OIC cooperation in addressing the capacity building gaps at the human and institutional levels.

In his welcoming remarks, H.E. Mr. Ahmet ALGAN, Board Member of the Turkish Competition Authority, stated that “Competition Authorities serve as an economic police by preventing cartelisation and monopolisation as well as protecting the rights of the consumers to improve the competitiveness of their economies.” Furthermore, he underlined the importance of “free market economy” for a well-functioning economy and mentioned that the Workshop aims to provide valuable insight into the debate on how competition law and other regulations can work together seamlessly to improve societies.

Mr. ALGAN concluded by underlining the need for SESRIC and the Turkish Competition Authority to further enhance their existing cooperation and promote competition law and policy in the OIC member countries.

This workshop was designed in line with the virtual training solutions undertaken by SESRIC to better serve the Centre’s activities and keep participants motivated and engaged during this challenging time of the global crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Documents:

• Concept Note: (English) (Arabic) (French)

Presentations:

• Day 1 :
  • Keynote speech Tunisia (Arabic)
  • Keynote speech Turkey (English)
  • Country Experience Burkina Faso (French)
  • Country Experience Pakistan (English)
  • Country Experience Turkey (English)
• Day 2
  • Day2 Keynote Speech Malaysia (English)
  • Day2 Country Experience Cameroon (French)
  • Day2 Country Experience Kazakhstan (English)
  • Day2 Country Experience Indonesia (English)
  • Day 2 Country Experience The Gambia (English)
  • Day 2 Country Experience Turkey (English)
  • Day2 Country Experience Uzbekistan (English)

Photos