Terms of Reference

EXPERT GROUP MEETING ON

IMPLEMENTATION OF POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES
TOWARDS COMPETITIVE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
FOR NAM MEMBER COUNTRIES

=Organized jointly by NAM CSSTC and IPA=
Venue: Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam, 28-30 January 2002

OBJECTIVES

In order to gain their rightful places in international relations, NAM member countries need to achieve rapid, sustained and equitable national economic and social growth. This would require the effective and efficient mobilization, and management, of national and international resources to advance the capability of the national economic agents, both large and smaller enterprises, to increase production rapidly and to be able to compete domestically and internationally in order to make the economy efficient and dynamic. There are indeed many requirements that have to be fulfilled before a country can achieve this performance[1]. The Expert Group meeting, organized by NAM CSSTC in April 2001, on the Identification of Major Issues in Eradicating Poverty and Fostering Rapid and Equitable Development in NAM Member Countries, identified, among others, the need for NAM member countries to have good, effective and efficient public and corporate governance to attain this objective. There was also another intensive discussion between NAM CSSTC and IPA on the strategic issues of sustainable economic growth within good governance held in October 2001. In line with those two ideas the expert group meeting to be held in January 2002, in Brunei Darussalam, will discuss relevant issues on good governance and competitive economic development.

FRAMEWORK OF DISCUSSION

The discussion could be focused on the key elements that would contribute to policies and programmes within the context of good governance and competitive economic development.

Elements contributing to good and effective public/corporate governance:

(1)            Participation and consensus-building in decision making;

(2)            Competent and resourceful staff;

(3)            Providing particular attention on the interest of the poor;

(4)            Clear goals and strategies;

(5)            Efficient and effective organization;

(6)            Transparency and accountability; and

(7)            Upholding the supremacy of the law.

Elements contributing to competitive economic development:

(1)            Appropriate infrastructure;

(2)            Competitive services;

(3)            International relation;

(4)            Privatization and commercialization;

(5)            Reform of regulation, liberalization as well as legal environment for business development; and

(6)            Safety, security and environmental care.

EXPECTED RESULT

It is expected that lessons learned during the meeting would be beneficial and relevant  to the interest of NAM member countries, particularly in the revitalization of the development strategy through the implementation of appropriate policies and programmes, and the application of good and effective public and corporate governance.

 PARTICIPANTS

Experts from NAM member countries, including those from the business sector. The target number should be about 20 sponsored country experts/participants from Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America, South and Central Asia, and West Asia regions. Total participants expected amount to 100 persons.

DURATION

3 (three) days, 28 to 30 January 2002.

VENUE

 Institut Perkhidmatan Awam (IPA), Prime Minister’s Office, Spg. 256, Jln. Kg. Rimba, Gadong BE3119, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam.

ORGANIZING INSTITUTIONS

 The meeting will be jointly organized by NAM CSSTC and IPA.

NAM CSSTC  was established in 1995 at the eleventh Summit of NAM held in Cartagena, as one of the vital and effective means for promoting and accelerating development in the developing countries. Its objective is to enhance the collective self-reliance of NAM member countries in attaining sustained people-centred economic and social development and to enable developing countries to become equal partners in international relations. However, the functions of NAM CSSTC is not just a forum for dialogue but a centre for action, pooling the resources to attain the objectives of both NAM member and non-member countries. The programmes should have immediate as well as long term impact to render the economies of developing countries to be more broad-based, efficient and resilient to participate in the globalization process and to strengthen cooperation among developing countries.

IPA was established in 1977. IPA is dedicated to add value to the development of human resources in both the public and private sectors in Negara Brunei Darussalam by providing high quality human resource development programmes. It has been able to provide further impetus towards the development of human resources management in the international forum through the collaboration in the fields of training and development with renowned international organizations.

TENTATIVE AGENDA