In order to stimulate high-level policy debate on some of the economic challenges facing the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in the period ahead, the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia Department and the IMF Institute will be hosting a Conference on "The Middle East and North Africa Region: The Challenges of Growth and Globalization" at IMF Headquarters during April 7-8, 2004. The conference will bring together officials and experts from central banks, governments, academic institutions, and regional and international organizations, both from within and outside the region. Some of the issues the conference will address include:

• an assessment of the record of growth in the MENA region and the factors that might have helped or impeded the region's growth performance;
• an examination of the role of reforms in the public sector and state institutions in fostering higher rates of sustainable growth;
• reform of the financial sector and the potential impact on growth and investment;
• the obstacles and opportunities for more meaningful economic integration of the MENA region in the global economy;
• lessons from international experience that may help promote macroeconomic and structural reform in the region

Attendance at the conference is by invitation only. For further information please contact INSINFO@imf.org