28 Nov 2016 - by A4ID

Good governance critical in extractives

A4ID participates in the OECD Policy Dialogue on Natural Resource-Based Development in Paris.

On 30 November 2016 A4ID will be attending a meeting with representatives from governments, industry, NGOs and international organisations to support countries reliant on natural resources to develop sustainably.

Ian R Coles, partner at Mayer Brown, will present on behalf of A4ID on assembling multidisciplinary teams for complex contract negotiations, drawing particularly on his extensive experience working with the government of Afghanistan. Ian and his team have been working with A4ID over the past year to support the OECD Development Centre in developing resources to assist developing country governments when preparing for and negotiating contracts. A4ID’s Head of Partnerships and Legal Services, Elisabeth Baraka will also be present.

The Policy Dialogue on Natural Resource-based Development is a multi-year intergovernmental process of knowledge sharing and peer learning among OECD and Partner natural resource producing countries on how to harness natural resources for structural transformation and more inclusive and broad-based development. It is jointly organised by the OECD Development Centre and the G7 Initiative on Strengthening Assistance for Complex Contract Negotiations (CONNEX). A4ID is a member of the Negotiation Support Forum through which support providers, partner countries and investors share learning.

Previously, A4ID has advocated for the inclusion of effective grievance and dispute resolution mechanisms as a critical part of the planning process by government when preparing to work with the private sector on extractive projects. The resulting publication on ‘Collaborative Strategies for In-Country Shared Value Creation: Framework for Extractive Projects’ can be found here.

This work builds on A4ID’s decade of experience supporting developing countries to engage on a more level playing field in their dealings with large companies and to develop in a sustainable manner, addressing the needs of all the community.