Mahmoud Mohieldin, Senior Vice President of the World Bank Group, said that eradicating poverty in the Arab world can be achieved.
During the events of Arab Sustainable Development Week on Monday, Mohieldin pointed out that some countries have achieved remarkable progress in eradicating poverty, especially in China, for example.
By 2020, China is expected to announce the complete eradication of absolute poverty, thus it means that they have been able to eradicate poverty ten years before the time set in their plan.
“Investing in human capital, localisation of development, and digital transformation are the basis of development,” he stressed.
The world has exhausted itself in centralisation and decentralisation, while digital transformation has been able to transform societies and systems rapidly, stock exchanges need to localise technology, he said, stressing that there are some successes in some countries in the region.
Egypt and several Arab countries have made efforts to invest in human capital, namely in education and health,” he highlighted. “I would like to emphasize that financing of sustainable development does not come through scattered financial transactions or disbursed spending, but rather an integrated approach based on coherent policies and efficient institutions.”
Accordingly, this approach relies on the empowerment of youth and women through employment, investment and entrepreneurship supported by specialised institutions and financing. According to him, this approach also focuses on localising development in between cities, governorates and regions in attracting investments, developing production, and raising efficiency through fiscal measures, promoting competitiveness and stimulating innovation.
He called on the private sector to play a bigger role in achieving development goals, “it is still vague in many countries and did not go beyond talking about the wishes in events, without the development of a specific framework or integrated policy to guide this sector, especially SMEs,” he explained.
According to the Financing for Development document discussed at Addis Ababa in 2015, development financing relies on an unprecedented role and size for the private sector through participatory and catalytic systems and innovative financing processes. However, the gap between mutual pledges and the facts on the ground remains significant.
