Minister of finance demands innovative solutions for Mideast economy

Qatar’s Minister of Economy and Finance Yousuf Hussein Kamal has called for finding innovative solutions to promote the economies of the Middle East and north Africa. Speaking at the Growing Beyond Summit 2012 that launched Tuesday in Doha, HE said that all previous economic reform solutions and plans in the Middle East and north Africa were not economically feasible, as they were based on categorical growth rates. In this regard, HE explained that the 7-percent growth Egypt has been scoring in the years before 2010 has always served the interests of elite classes in the expense of the other classes. HE Yousuf Hussein Kamal hailed the role of the conference and its agenda in raising new solutions and standards thanks to participant economists and intellectuals. He noted that the current summit is being held in an appropriate time, as it comes in the wake of the Arab Spring and after the economic and financial crisis that has swept the world since 2007. The Qatari minister noted that the Middle East and north Africa region did not receive developmental attention for more than 50 years, despite its human and natural potential, which proves that it only needs good economic management. He added that the region has potential large enough to get it out of its financial and economic crisis if human and natural resources were used to create a better future, especially since the region’s population is no more than 350 million, a figure that, he said, is simple when compared to the human and natural potential of the region. The Ernst and Young’s Growing Beyond Summit 2012 has launched Tuesday in Doha under the patronage of HE the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani. The two-day summit is set to tackle a number of major regional issues and topics, notably the issues of housing, employment, sustainability and empowerment of Arab women, in addition to methods of the region’s economies in handling opportunities and challenges. it will also discuss the pivotal role played by Qatar in enhancing the growing significance of the region, and Qatar’s superiority as a major player in this field. The summit will also discuss through interactive sessions other regional important issues such as oil and gas, retail and consumer products, private equity, in addition to financial services, family businesses and public sector institutions.