Abu El Gheit Warns  of Growing Unemployment, Poverty     in  Arab World

Ahmed Abu El Gheit, Secretary-General of the Arab League has participated in the ceremony of issuing the first edition of the Unified Economic Arab Report.

He stressed the importance of that report, which is the first of its kind.

The report monitors the fields of cooperation between the joint institutions in the Arab countries.

Over the opening of the ceremony, Abu El Gheit delivered a keynote speech.

He said the report is the fruit of cooperation between the General Secretariat of the Arab League, the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF),  the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD), the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC).

He assured that the report is the first reference in the Arabic language on the economies of the Arab countries and their basic indicators.

He went on to say that the Arab economies are recovering hardly like other economies across the world due to the hefty consequences left by the Coronavirus (known also as COVID-19).

The General Secretary of the Arab League warns that the structural problems stuck to the Arab economies are still standing.

He explained that the most dangerous of those problems is the increase of poverty, unemployment, paucity of industrial exports of high value-added.

He pointed out that 40% of the population in the Arab region is in poverty, and 15% of the poor suffer from extreme poverty.

The percentage of unemployment in the Arab world is around 16%, which is higher than the international average that is estimated at 5.4%.

He added that most of those who suffer from unemployment are young people who enter the labor market for the first time, which increases the impact of this crisis, explaining that Arab economies suffer from a clear defect in absorbing newcomers and achieving high levels of employment and that the needs of the labor market are still separate about education.

He added that indicators of multidimensional poverty have deteriorated over the past ten years, despite clear efforts made by Arab governments to develop comprehensive development and improve human development indicators in many Arab countries. Responding to poverty challenges requires adopting innovative development models based on providing equal opportunities for females and males." And for urban and rural residents alike.