November 14, 2008

Beirut- Thursday, November 13th - Dr. Kamal Shehadi, Chairman and CEO of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, inaugurated the Panel Discussion of the Doing Business Workshop held in Grand Serail, under the patronage of H.E President of Council Fouad Seniora, by stating that attracting investment and creating jobs in the private sector are top policy priorities in Lebanon.

However, it’s complex and bureaucratic administrative and regulatory environment continues to be somewhat hostile to doing business, a factor which was highlighted in the Doing Business report 2009, a comparative analysis on investment conditions of 181 countries, and which requires Lebanon to strengthen its efforts towards a continuous improvement of the business and investment environment. Dr. Shehadi stated that the telecommunications sector is an important lever for economic development as highlighted in Article 56 of the Governmental Declaration.

He shed light on how TRA , in its efforts to regulate and liberalize the telecommunications sector, is simplifying its administrative procedures through developing a transparent and clear regulatory framework, launching a transparent public consultation process, and issuing many key regulations necessary to promote investment in the telecom market in line with best practices, among which is the new simplified licensing regime which will encourage market entry through transparent, minimally burdensome rules and non-discriminatory minimum conditions for the licensing of Service Providers to offer Telecommunications Services. Dr. Shehadi confirmed that all these new procedures are fundamental and necessary to create an enabling telecommunications environment conducive to the growth of the private sector by stimulating investment and ultimately pushing the Lebanese economy towards sustainable growth and development.

He then concluded by stating that it is the Lebanese Government’s intentions to make this workshop a hands -on event by identifying the key administrative barriers that undermine Doing Business in Lebanon, and looked forward to a set of common policies and endorsed recommendations to be presented for future implementation.

To view the agenda of the workshop click here

To view Dr. Shehadi’s full speech, click here