The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, H E Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani, said yesterday that the Arab world has failed to create adequate job opportunities to address the problem of unemployment despite high rates of economic growth. This is the main challenge that faces the Arab world today, the Premier said in his address to the World Economic Forum in Jordan, reports Qatar News Agency (QNA). These failures were one of the detonators of revolution in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria, he said. He cautioned that the Arab region, with the advent of the 21st Century, is facing many economic challenges, including water scarcity, sustainability of the consumption of natural resources, environmental degradation, poverty, diversification of income sources and brain drain. The PM called on Arab countries to reconsider their economic and social policies and seek a new development model consistent with the aspirations of their people. Existing development models have failed to achieve radical reforms in policies, institutions and ensure that the fruits of development have reached the common man rather than benefiting particular classes of people. The PM said the experience of Qatar in the management of the development process and the adoption of a balanced model that includes the long-term general objectives, outlines the vision of a vibrant and prosperous community enjoying economic and social justice, establishes a sense of citizenship and maintains the balance between nature and man, stressing that Qatar National Vision 2030 views man as the objective of development in all its human, social, economic and environmental dimensions. He added that many of the Arab states have not given adequate attention to the building of sustainable development pillars to ensure a decent living for all citizens, and despite the good economic performance in recent years by many of the Arab countries in terms of growth and the achievement of high rates, this growth went to a particular category of the community and was not translated into tangible benefits for all citizens, adding that with the poor distribution of the fruits of development and high rates of unemployment, illiteracy and poverty, tension increased between the ruler and the ruled. The PM said turmoil in the region, which started from Tunisia, is not only an expression of dissatisfaction over job opportunities, low wages and poverty, but also a review in the choices of economic policy in the region over the past decades and the right of citizens to choose the optimal economic method to manage the development process. He said that many Arab states are similar with regard to the natural resources and productive bases they possess, the economic and social policies they adopt and thus it is not surprising that they are also similar in the challenges they face. The Prime Minister added that far from the effects of the global economic crisis, the creation of job opportunities in a sustainable manner in the Arab world is one of the most important challenges of Arab development before and after the crisis and during the coming decades. He said that in light of the political uncertainty and turmoil that is still overwhelming many countries and with the global economic crisis which emerge whenever there is a sign of recovery in sight, its growth forecasts remains uncertain for the time being with a risk of decline. With regard to employment and job creation, we find that the Arab region is one of most backward regions in the world with a large youth population of youths as where two thirds of the population has not reached the age of thirty, and this means the need to create jobs exceeding this figure to solve the current problem of unemployment. http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/170152-arab-world-failed-to-create-enough-jobs-despite-economic-growth-pm.html

Follow us on our social media channels: @ILQlive @ILQlive @ILoveQtr ILoveQatar