The president of the World Bank cautioned on Monday that much remains to be done to improve the economies in countries in the Middle East and North Africa where popular uprisings have removed repressive leaders.
World Bank President Robert Zoellick noted that many of the uprisings in Arab countries were triggered by social and economic grievances.
– While many of these issues are complex and will take time to be addressed, they are nevertheless, issues that will not go away just because one government fell, or one leader replaced another, he said.
The World Bank gathered experts, academics and economists Monday to dialogue on what the change taking place in the Middle East and North Africa means for the region and people living there.
Figures from the Bank showed that countries in the region will have to create 4 million jobs per year for the next 20 years to meet labor force growth and absorb the large pool of the unemployed.
Zoellick said the Bank had to take a closer look at problems that have dogged the region, such as income inequality, unemployment among youths, lack of transparency and accountability (stå til ansvar), and the role of the private sector.
– In order to identify and explore these issues, we need first and foremost to open up a genuine and deep dialogue with and between the different voices in the region, Zoellick noted.
Hele Zoellicks tale kan læses på
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:22863130~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html
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