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Al-Ahram Weekly 9 - 15 March 2000 Issue No. 472 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 9 - 15 March 2000 Issue No. 472
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Focus Books Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Sharing the benefits
By Niveen Wahish
Seven hundred development practitioners, economists and businessmen from across the Middle East and North Africa met in Cairo last week for the third Mediterranean Development Forum (MDF3).
Held under the auspices of Mrs Suzanne Mubarak and Queen Rania Al-Abdullah ibn Al-Hussein of Jordan, the theme of the forum was "Voices for Change, Partners in Prosperity".
The meeting focused on the development needs of countries of the MENA region as they work towards becoming fully integrated in the global system.
MDF is a partnership of Middle Eastern and North African think tanks working with the UNDP and World Bank to support development. There have been two previous MDF conferences -- in 1997 and 1998 -- both of which were held in Marrakech.
In her speech to MDF3, Mrs Mubarak stressed that the concerns of developing countries, which were voiced during the WTO meeting in Seattle and the UNCTAD meeting in Bangkok, must not be ignored. Not everyone, she continued, has benefited equally from the opportunities possible under globalisation. "If the promises of these opportunities are to be realised without endangering social harmony or widening the gap between the haves and the have- nots," she said, then these concerns must be taken into account.
Development policies must aim at striking a balance between the social and economic: "Economic policies and programmes are a means to an end [which is] human well-being and welfare," she said. And as a result, argued Egypt's first lady, social inclusion, poverty reduction, employment creation and facilitating broad-based participation must receive as much weight in policy decisions as purely economic and fiscal concerns.
Keen to stress the importance of human resource development, Mrs Mubarak insisted that the flow of capital into developing countries must be translated, not only into productive investment, but as well "help in the protection and development of its human resources".
"The foundation on which we can build the kind of future we aspire for," said Mrs Mubarak, is education, for it is only through education that younger generations acquire the skills necessary to enable them to keep afloat in an increasingly competitive world economy.
To successfully realise such goals cooperation is imperative, suggested Mrs Mubarak, on both the local and regional levels. Locally, she stressed the importance of cooperation between the government, the private sector, civil society and the media to bring about the desired change. On a broader level, she focused on the role of regional cooperation as the means of becoming "more effective in an increasingly competitive world" and increasing the ability of countries in the region to combat poverty.
Queen Rania stressed that the purpose of the gathering was "to engage in dialogue" and that the "aspirations of the Middle East region are that this dialogue be translated into substantive and on-the-ground-cooperation". She emphasized the importance of micro-finance projects for the alleviation of poverty and unemployment, especially among women. "Learning from young entrepreneurs who understand the benefits of networking and the importance of partnership, King Abdullah has established a consultative economic committee comprised of private and public sector personalities, with enough seats for our young and successful businessmen to make a difference," she said.
The issues raised were later elaborated by speakers throughout the forum. Prime Minister Atef Ebeid told MDF participants that ensuring a fairness distribution of the benefits of globalisation remained an important priority for developing countries. Long gone, he said, are the days when policy decisions were taken behind closed doors. Civil society, the private sector and the media, must all must join the government in delineating policies, he argued.
Cooperation emerged as the generally prescribed panacea for integration into the global economy.
"Regionalism is the preparatory stage for globalisation," the prime minister insisted, while John Page, an economist at the World Bank, elaborated on Ebeid's statement. Labour and capital flows between Arab countries show that they are as well integrated as any other developing region, he said. But the Arab Free Trade area initiated three years ago needs to move forward at a faster rate, he argued.
"Quicker Arab integration is essential for quicker integration into multilateral trade talks," Page said, suggesting a three-year timetable for the completion of Arab integration. He suggested that rather than devoting energy to bilateral agreements, Arab states should concentrate on wider cooperation.
