DUBAI, 13 May 2003 — Middle Eastern countries face five common challenges from jobs and education to water and the role of women, World Bank Vice President Jean-Louis Sarbib said yesterday.
The bank provided the region with $590 million in development assistance in 2002, Sarbib, vice president for the Middle East and North Africa told a press conference.
“At the core of our activities is a belief in helping to actively support and empower men and women, and place them at the very center of development through our development assistance and social programs in this region,” he said. “One of the biggest challenges facing the Middle East and North Africa is that of unemployment, so we support projects and give assistance to directly help with job creation across the region.”
Noting that each country had specific needs, he listed five common challenges — private sector development and employment, public sector efficiency and governance, education for a global world through helping individuals to compete better in the global marketplace, gender and strengthening the prospects for women’s role and participation in public life and sustainable management of water resources in the world’s most water-stressed region.
