Speakers
Nur Arafeh
Fellow, Malcolm H. Kerr
Carnegie Middle East Center
Bessma Momani
Professor of Political Science
University of Waterloo
Manal Shehabi
Academic Visitor
St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford
Tarik M. Yousef
Senior Fellow and Director
Middle East Council on Global Affairs
Moderator
Background
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have been struggling with one of the world’s worst economic crises following fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and high inflation arising from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, both of which have caused a global economic downturn. Countries in the MENA region are all facing a variety of economic challenges, including high inflation, rising fuel and food prices, disrupted global supply chains, the world’s highest youth unemployment rates, falling wages, currency depreciation, rampant corruption and structural economic weaknesses, and financial and debt crises. While import-dependent Arab economies are confronting these obstacles, oil-producing countries in the Gulf are facing the need to diversify their economies. Drastic increases in the cost of living across the region have made life even more miserable for an already aggrieved population, and more people are falling into poverty. This combination of external global shocks and internal shortcomings is threatening to bring about an economic, social, and political collapse.
Event Summary
Tarek Yousef gave a general assessment of economic conditions in the MENA region, delving into factors affecting them such as the COVID epidemic and the war in Ukraine. These proved very costly everywhere. Importantly, however, he said that these two factors cannot alone be blamed; instead all of the last decade has witnessed detrimental conditions that deeply harmed ME economies.
Bessma Momani agreed with Yousef but also covered external factors more broadly, the debt situation in MENA countries, and the fact that not all ME countries are serious players in international economics. She discussed the challenges of austerity and paucity of international investments, China’s calculated economic participation, and the reality globalization is essentially over.
Manal Shehabi focused on the issues of energy and its impact on economics in the MENA region. She said there are distinctions between oil producing and oil importing countries, but there is a general worry among all about the period of energy transition which will have an impact on diversification and development plans. She also covered future possibilities in the energy sector.
Nur Arafeh discussed the issues of food crises and insecurity in MENA countries as well as food import dependency by almost all of them. Her argument centered on the fact that the food crisis was not only the result of the war in Ukraine but of the failures of MENA states to address food security issues. She focused on Lebanon as an example of a misguided agricultural policy that neglected food production in favor of cash crops.
Featured image credit: Shutterstock/ESB Professional
