[Title] Outcome Document of the Deauville Partnership Senior Officials Meeting: Elements for the Future Deauville Partnership

Part I: Background

1 During the Deauville Partnership Senior Officials Meeting which was held in Tokyo, Japan, on March 2nd,, 2016, the participants reviewed the past initiatives and achievements, examined the current economic, political and social situation in the Middle East and North African region, and exchanged views on how to inject new momentum into the Deauville Partnership for it to remain relevant to the region's needs, meaningful and sustainable.

2 The participants decided that the Deauville Partnership should continue to serve as an important platform in the MENA region for dialogue between G7 members, Arab Countries in Transition (ACTs), regional partners and relevant international institutions. Participants acknowledged that transformation is an ongoing process and that, more than ever, the Deauville Partnership is meant to provide a unique and much-needed international cooperation framework for ACTs in order to foster sound financial and economic evolution through long term structural reforms and improved economic governance.

3 The participants duly took into account the challenges facing the ACTs due to the growing instability caused by, in particular, the rise of extremists, the intensification of military conflicts and the increasing number and severity of humanitarian crises, including refugees. Participants underscored that economic and governance reforms and robust civil society participation in the political and economic life of society are critical to democracy and stability. Mid- to long- term efforts to nurture a moderate middle class require improved governance, inclusive political participation, gender equality and youth inclusion, and sustainable economic growth if they are to be successful in hindering extremism from establishing roots in the region.

4 At the same time, the participants reaffirmed their commitment to implementing the past initiatives such as the Compact on Economic Governance and the Action Plan for Financial Inclusion under the German presidency, and reaffirmed that the Deauville Partnership had played a useful role in promoting socio-economic reforms in the ACTs, including implementation of projects carried out by the MENA Transition Fund.

5 The participants reconfirmed the usefulness of a country-tailored approach since the transition processes, socio-economic situation, and need for assistance in the ACTs are different from one country to another. The participants also acknowledged the need to enhance ownership from the ACTs and coordination with G7, ACTs, IFIs, partners and relevant international institutions.

6 The participants noted the importance of revisiting the Deauville Partnership by further clarifying and, where necessary, updating its strategic focus of the Deauville Partnership in order to produce tangible deliverables which are better tailored to the changing regional context and the specific country needs. The core elements of the future Deauville Partnership is summarized in Part II of this document.

Part II: Elements for the Future Deauville Partnership

7 In order to further promote a more holistic and integrated approach to supporting transitions in the region, streamlining of the existing process is essential. To this end, the Governance track and the Finance track have been merged. The Deauville Partnership processes should be properly managed by a series of meetings at the senior officials' level and reported to the leaders as appropriate.

8 The participants renewed their support for the mandate of the MENA Transition Fund and decided that the increased focus on portfolio quality and reporting on tangible results, strengthened under the German presidency, should be taken forward, including adherence to the existing results framework. The participants reaffirmed the need to focus on the steady implementation of the approved projects to have more sustainable impacts for the ACTs, together with monitoring and evaluation of these projects to extract best practices and to share them among the implementing institutions and ACTs. Participants acknowledged the necessity to keep the momentum going and reaffirmed their goal to reach the $250 million capitalization goal for the Transition Fund.

9 The participants affirmed the need to narrow down the focus of the Deauville Partnership on a few priority areas identified jointly with the ACTs where the Partnership can add value and produce tangible results within the parameters of the Deauville Partnership framework. The priority issues for the next 2-3 years include: assistance and support in the governance area, investment promotion, strengthening the governance and reform foundations that support the promotion of small- and medium- sized enterprises, financial inclusion, job creation, good governance and greater empowerment of women and youths in public and economic life, and social cohesion, as these elements contribute to promoting economic growth and social stability.

10 The participants put a special emphasis on the important nature of the SME related projects described by the MENA TF coordination unit and appreciated the detailed reporting on their progress. The participants noted the importance of women's economic empowerment to ACTs' overall economic growth, and they welcomed Japan's proposal to host an expert meeting in 2016 to discuss women's public and socio-economic role.

11 The participants also underlined the need for follow-up of the past proposals, efforts and initiatives. The participants attach particular importance to the implementation of the Compact on Economic Governance and the Action Plan on Financial Inclusion, as well as updating the ACT SME Action Plans, which are expected to contribute to ensuring continued economic stabilization in ACTs. The participants shared their intention to make utmost efforts to implement the goals of the Compact and Action Plan through a steady dialogue and consultation process where ACTs to identify specific policy measures which the G7 and partner countries could match them with technical assistance and other supporting measures, in parallel with conducting peer learning and peer review dialogues, which would be supported by the OECD and the IFIs, as well as relevant coordination platforms. In this regard, the participants welcomed the detailed implementation plan presented by OECD to produce a stocktaking report on the four dimensions of the Compact, submit it for discussion and peer review of the Deauville partners, as well as to produce report on progress on an annual basis.

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