By NNN-KUNA,
Kuwait : The Arab Economic and Social Forum has concluded its two-day activities with the final session concentrated on youth, unemployment and immigration in the Arab world.
Qatari Minister of Labour and president of Doha Forum for Development and Work, Sultan Al-Dosari said Arab governments were responsible for encouraging the youth to participate in the development in the Arab countries.
“Paying more attention in the youth issues should be very high,” Al-Dosari said at the opening of the last session.
Unemployment, he warned, has reached “high levels” in the Arab world, or 22 per cent of the actual workforce. He said the annual increase in joblessness was around 1.5 per cent.
Al-Dosari called for creating a balance between education and needs of the labour market.
He called on businessmen to establish a bank to finance small-size projects to be run by the youth in order to eradicate unemployment.
The Qatari official called for minimzing the import of foreign labour and encourage Arab brains to return to their home countries.
Director-General of the Arab Labour Organisation (ALO) Ahmad Lukman said 54 per cent of the unemployed were from among the youth.
He noted that more than four million people would need jobs in the next decade.
Lukman appreciated Kuwait’s initiative to call for the Economic Summit and to face serious problems like poverty and unemployment which were threatening the living conditions, education and training.
Lukman, in a statement to KUNA following the session, warned against rising unemployment and noted that 18 million people were without jobs.
He said unemployment in the Arab region was 9 per cent, the worst globally. Unemployment in the US is 7 per cent.
ALO, he added, proposed the establishment of an investment bank to facilitate movement of labour and organise foreign labour between Arab countries.
Lukman said the private sector has a key role in creating jobs for the youth.