The MENA Region and the Crises : An Interview with MNA Vice-President Shamshad Akhtar

World Bank

Washington, DC

关键词: CLIENT COUNTRIES;    COMMODITIES;    COMMODITY;    COMMODITY PRICES;    DEVELOPING COUNTRIES;   

RP-ID  :  51801

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

To Middle East and North Africa (MENA)is a fascinating landscape. It is regrettable that theregion is often in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.It's perceived as a place of endless conflict, wherepeople live in fear and private investors shy away, some saythe region is a closed society and is not open tointegration etc. On the contrary, the MENA is a region ofreal economic, social and cultural achievements, bothhistorically and in present times. The region has greatpotential that is being now unleashed and holds promise fora great future. As the World Bank Group, work closely withpartners including all countries and regional institutionsto assist in mitigating crisis and its impacts, whileencouraging broadening and deepening of economic reforms tocreate productive jobs, and make the region moreentrepreneurial and quick to seize opportunities in theregional and global economy. In conclusion, let me repeatthat the MENA region has weathered the triple crisis well sofar, but the crisis presents an immediate danger of risingunemployment and a resurgence of poverty, and highlights theurgency of deepening the structural reforms needed toaddress MENA's critical long term developmentchallenges, namely the creation of productive private sectorjobs for a growing labor force and the management of scarcecommon resources, especially water.