MENA region is generally associated with oil and oil products when it comes to trade with other countries, especially with the ones outside the region. However, in the last couple of decades, the trade basket has diversified and as a result the development of the region has also gone up, though not all the countries in the region have benefitted.
It is well documented that oil trade constitutes major portion of the trade by MENA region with the outside countries and this had benefitted the region financially. But the development was restricted as trade of primary products and consumer goods cannot be taken as sustainable benefits.
With the increase in proportion of high value, high technological products in the trade basket, the development factor has improved. A couple of countries such as Tunisia and Egypt have become the hubs of outsourcing and IT investment in the region. This has created more high paying and secure jobs, as well as brought in greater FDI (Ahmed, 2010).
Apart from US and major European countries, China and India have invested heavily in the region in the past decade and the number of people on the ground from these countries has increased many folds. This has brought with itself better infrastructure, hospitals and schools, better roads etc. apart from the direct financial inflow (The World Bank, 2010).
Greater trade and better relationship with outside countries have also resulted in creating a more stable and population friendly environment in most of the countries in the region. A lot of the countries have witnessed regime changes in the last five years, with dictators being replaced by more benign head of states.
So overall, the region has benefitted from greater cash inflow, better infrastructure and a better development environment through development of trade with outside countries.
Works Cited
Ahmed, Masood. Trade Competitiveness and Growth MENA. World Economic Forum's Arab World Competitiveness Review 2010. Web. 2010. <https://www.imf.org/external/np/vc/2010/103010.htm>.
The World Bank. Trade Integration in the Middle East and North Africa. The World Bank. Web. 23 Mar. 2010. <http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2010/03/23/trade-integration-in-the-middle-east-and-north-africa>.
