The Arab world is home to half of the world's refugees and displaced people

3:10 p.m.

Sunday, January 20, 2019

Beirut (dpa)

Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Sunday that the Arab world is home to about half of the world's refugees and displaced people.

"Just know that about 4 million Syrian children have left their schools because of the war that has lasted for seven years.This is enough to track the serious humanitarian crises in both countries" Abul Gheit said during a speech at the opening session of the Arab Summit for Economic and Social Development in Beirut. Somalia and Yemen, without losing sight of the tragic reality that our people in Palestine undergo daily due to the closure, siege and unfair practices imposed by the Israeli occupation. "

"It is enough to know all this to realize that the battle for the development of many parts of our Arab world is not taking place under normal conditions or in a favorable environment, but in difficult conditions and in a fragile environment."

He pointed out that economic growth rates in the Arab region rose to 2.7% during the current year and were still not enough to achieve the desired development boom.

Aboul Gheit said that "despite the remarkable efforts made in recent years to improve the economic situation, especially in the areas of infrastructure, transport and communications, the Arab region is still far from realizing its potential and achieving its aspirations, more half of the exports of the Arab world "Petroleum Products".

"There is a growing need to diversify economies to protect them from the fluctuations associated with energy prices.It is also necessary to improve the business environment, to strengthen competitiveness and to stimulate the spirit of enterprise. "

"The region – with a few exceptions – still does not have sufficient volume of highly productive and high value-added economic activity and is not prepared to engage in it. digital economy (the economy of the future) based on innovation and creativity, "he said.

"Preparing to deal with the consequences of this technological revolution should be our top priority in the next phase, and we must redouble our efforts to bridge the digital divide with other regions of the world – more than half of the population. of the Arab world not being connected to the Internet, "he said.

"The population of the Arab world is one of the youngest in the world.If we do not exploit this demographic window, this group of young people will turn into a burden for savings and even a driving force. agitation, and probably a fertile environment for various forms of religious and political extremism, "he said.

"The desired growth is human and human and can only be achieved by investing in people – education, health, food, clothing, culture and awareness." Education is the key factor in the constitution and accumulation of human capital.

He stressed that "the Arab world needs a real break with regard to low levels of education and deterioration and the most serious, the widening gap between education and the market of the work and the weak link between the results of education and the requirements of global growth ".

Aboul Gheit added that "if we talk about education and its products, we should not lose sight of the central role of the educational system as well as the media in the fight against extremist ideology and in the construction of a true social conscience that rejects extremism and extremism in all its forms and manifestations ".

Aboul Gheit said that "accelerating the elimination of as many people as possible from the abyss of extreme poverty is the best way to reduce the sources of extremism and of terrorism ", noting that" about 20% of the population of the Arab world lives in situations known as multidimensional poverty, which is not measured only by income indicators, but educational opportunities, health care and living conditions. life. "

He stressed that "the Arab countries have achieved, in all, remarkable successes in the reduction of extreme poverty, however, a significant mass of the population of several Arab countries is still concentrated around him".

He stressed that the goal of the negotiation of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area was coming to an end, noting that "nearly 95% of detailed rules of origin were completed." We hope that this integrated economic system including the liberalization of trade in services, will be completed as soon as possible. "He said.

"It is not acceptable that trade between our countries remain at their current rates, which do not exceed 12% of the total trade of the Arab countries.It is not acceptable that the Arab region remains the least global in terms of economic integration, with all the possibilities offered by this integration to promote the Arab economies and diversifying its activities. "

"The agenda items for this summit include a number of initiatives, projects and programs on economic integration, and we all look forward to the implementation of these initiatives. to bring us closer to the path of Arab economic integration. "

The Arab Summit of Economic and Social Development was inaugurated Wednesday in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, in the absence of presidents and princes of Arab countries.