Inter-agency Cooperation Among MENA Competition Authorities

In recent years, the landscape of competition enforcement in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has witnessed increased emphasis on inter-agency cooperation. The regional Arab Competition Network, has held high-level meetings—including its fourth annual session in May 2025—and several bilateral MoUs have been signed among national enforcers. These developments reflect a growing acknowledgment of the benefits of coordination. Still, concrete practical impacts are still only moderate.

Rationale for inter-agency cooperation

Competition authorities serve a critical role in safeguarding market efficiency and protecting consumer welfare. Their two core responsibilities are merger control and antitrust enforcement. Through merger control, authorities review transactions that may reduce competition and impose remedies or prohibit deals where necessary. Antitrust enforcement involves investigating and sanctioning practices such as cartels, abuse of dominance,