Greater confidence in economic growth and resilience for MENA region

DEAD SEA, Jordan – Prime Minister of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Abdullah Abdulkarim Hamdan Ensour said that Jordan is on a long-term growth track, after years of deep economic, political and so

DEAD SEA, Jordan – Prime Minister of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Abdullah Abdulkarim Hamdan Ensour said that Jordan is on a long-term growth track, after years of deep economic, political and social challenges in the region.

“We are already seeing positive signs with stronger foreign reserves, fiscal consolidation and higher growth rates,” he said at in the opening plenary of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa.

More than 900 participants from over 50 countries are taking part in the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa. The three-day meeting, convening under the theme Advancing Conditions for Growth and Resilience, will focus on shaping the region’s economic, social and governance systems of the future.

This economic optimism for the region was shared by Min Zhu, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He said that a return to more robust growth in the region could be accelerated in a way that meets the long-term necessity of high growth rates that can accommodate and employ a bulging youth population.

Martin Senn, Group Chief Executive Officer Zurich Insurance Group, Switzerland and Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa, compared the MENA countries with those of southern Europe, saying that the latter may, in fact, have bigger economic problems.

Ibrahim S. Dabdoub, Group Chief Executive Officer, National Bank of Kuwait and Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and Africa, emphasized the key role of the private sector in promoting growth. He said: “Your role is to monitor, to watch and control, but to let the private sector move.”

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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