19 December 2008
Meanwhile, the IFC’s advisory services in revising the region's mining policies reinforce concerns over the lack of transparency of these types of operations.
In an event held in Dubai in October 2008 and co-sponsored by the IFC, the first mining congress in the Middle East and North Africa discussed revising policy frameworks to encourage foreign investors and companies to increase mining investments in the region. An IFC press release stressed the cases of Yemen and Egypt, where the institution is conducting advisory services to the governments to promote business-friendly legal and regulatory reforms.
However, the IFC’s advisory operations, which have grown considerably over the past few years, are characterized by a complete lack of transparency, despite the transformative effects they can have on whole sectors of the economy. Meanwhile, the timing of the conference was not favorable, as the onset of the financial crisis has seen investors shy away from project investment in the face of plummeting demand and prices for hard rock minerals.
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