DOHA: The recent developments in the Arab world call for a radical change in the employment strategies of the Arab countries giving more focus on social justice and creation of new jobs, the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani has said. “The developments in some Arab countries since the beginning of the year reflected the need of a radical and more comprehensive treatment to the problem of unemployment, which requires review of development policies to meet labor markets needs of new jobs,” said the Prime Minister in an address to the 35th session of the council of governors of Arab central banks and monetary agencies here. The speech was read out by Governor of the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud Al Thani at the opening session of the meeting. The Prime Minister said that the needs of the labour market could be met by pursuing multi-faceted strategies and by implementing further reforms “that would remove the imbalance in our economic systems” He stressed that the priorities in the short term was to address the issue of social justice, and at the same time maintain the overall economic and financial stability. Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem said the Doha meeting had gained more significance in the face of the challenges created by the rapid developments in the Arab world as well as the consequences of the global financial crisis over the past three years. He pointed out that Qatar is working to improve the Qatari economy and achieve the desired goals as stipulated in the Qatar National Vision 2030. Despite the huge investments planned in the coming period, the general budget is expected to continue to achieve a surplus in the coming years by 5.7 percent of Gross Domestic Product, the Prime Minister said. Dr Jassim Al Mannai, Director General and Chairman of the Board of the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) said the regional and international developments had a great impact over the Arab countries at the economic and financial levels. The various indicators predict a decline of growth rates for the next period as a result of capital flight, the reluctance of foreign investors and the continued pressure on their national currency’s value. Al Mannai urged the international community to contribute in alleviating the challenges faced by theses countries, hailing the initiatives taken by Qatar and Saudi Arabia in this regard. The debt crisis enveloping the Eurozone is a serious and immediate threat to the economies of the Arab countries, he said, noting its impact on oil market stability and the global financial markets. In this context, the AMF Chairman called for implementing an economic strategy based on geographical diversification of the Arab world’s foreign economic relations in a bid to reduce dependency on oil revenues. The Peninsula

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