Qatar Central Bank Governor H E Sheikh Abdulla bin Saoud Al Thani addressing the opening of ‘Enriching Middle East’s Economic Future’ conference at The Ritz-Carlton yesterday. Pic: Abdul Basit / The Peninsula
DOHA: Qatar Central Bank (QCB) Governor H E Sheikh Abdulla bin Saoud Al Thani opened the 13th ‘Enriching the Middle East’s Economic Future Conference’ yesterday, in the presence of H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, Minister of Economy and Commerce; and a number of local and international economists, investment and policy experts.
In his opening speech, the QCB Governor said that the two-day conference would highlight the economic future of the Middle East region which enjoys a strategic importance in the world and discusses economic, trade and development issues in light of the developments taking place in the world.
He pointed out that the previous 12 conferences have provided a good opportunity to exchange ideas and views between concerned parties, whether from the Middle East and North Africa, Asia or the United States.
The Central Bank Governor said that this year’s conference is taking place under difficult and complex circumstances in which crises and challenges have escalated around the world. Many critical issues, including the impact of taxes on the economies of the region, the upcoming US elections, the economic future of the Asian powers (Japan, India and China) and its effect on the Middle East region, youth employment and welfare, the role of entrepreneurship in promoting peace, the importance of international understanding and its effect on regional economic successes and cybersecurity would be debated in the two-day conference.
He stressed that the topics on the agenda of the conference focus on matters of concern to all countries of the world, which have direct implications on security and stability, pointing out that appropriate solutions to major challenges in the region can be only found through dialogue, consultation and consensus.
Dignitaries and officals attending the conference.
Citing latest IMF reports, the QCB Governor said the growth index for the Middle East and North Africa region saw low performance in GDP growth, the lowest growth rates among developing countries, with growth rate below world’s average.
Sheikh Abdulla said that the human capital is one of the most important inputs of production, indicating that expenditure on education is high in this region but does not reflect an increase in the registered test scores, which raises questions about the quality of education and the effectiveness of the systems associated with it.
A recent study by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) ahs noted that the Middle East and North Africa region ranks last among developing countries in terms of the number of companies offering training to their employees, he said.
The event is being organised by the Permanent Committee for Organizing Conferences at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the Center for Middle East Development (CMED) of the University of California- Los Angeles.
