AMMAN, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The World
Economic Forum (WEF) on the Middle East and North Africa started Saturday with
calls for increased support for the youth and addressing unemployment and
poverty.
Officials during the forum at the
Dead Sea said providing financial and moral support to the youth in the Middle
East and reforming education were key in addressing the pressing challenges
facing the region.
With high unemployment rate, fast
population growth, political regional challenges and spread of radical movements
that are relentlessly seeking to thrive on the hopelessness and despair of the
young generation, providing hope and support are vital for the youth in the
region, said the forum which attracted more than 1,100 political and business
leaders from more than 50 countries.
"What Arab youth want is what youth
everywhere want: a fair chance, a chance to be heard, a chance to make a
difference. What is unique to Arab youth, though, is a yearning and thirst that
I have not seen anywhere else. Perhaps, that's because our dire circumstances
make us cling more tightly to hope," Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan said at the
forum.
He said what young people need most
is for all to take a bet on them, and to support them, morally and financially,
so they can create their own impact. They need your help to advance and scale
their projects, so they can see for themselves the difference they can
make.
"Our young people need a region-wide
support system for opportunity, access, and hope. That's why your partnership is
so vital," he added.
Participants said as 31 percent of
young people in the region are unemployed, new initiatives and urgent actions
are needed. When a skilled talent is present, particularly educated women, he or
she is not being deployed effectively in the workforce.
King Felipe VI of Spain stressed the
need to join forces to address common challenges in fields of security, economy
and others.
"We cannot isolate the threats nor
the challenges we face, nor can we deal with them on our own," the Spanish king
said. "We should really move ahead and find more powerful and adequate ways of
also sharing our prosperity, to cooperate more efficiently in economic and
social development."
He highlighted the key role of
education in addressing challenges, calling for working together with the whole
world and friends in the Middle East and North Africa to rise up to the
challenges and seize the opportunities.
Iraqi President Fouad Masoum referred
to recent successes by the Iraqi army in defeating terrorists, saying combating
terrorism and alleviating poverty and unemployment should go hand in
hand.
"Education, I believe, is the best
way to combat poverty ... The reconstruction of Iraq should also be through
social and economic development," said the Iraqi president at the
forum.
He stressed that investments and
development were key to realizing sustainable development goals.
President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou
called for coordinated efforts and increased collaboration in the fight against
terrorism and criminal activities.
He called for increased aid by the
donor communities, stressing education as key for addressing the plethora of
challenges facing the region.
Creating jobs, he said, was key to
limit the number of migrants of who die while trying to leave to other countries
via the desert and across the Mediterranean.