## Editor’s Letter

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Editor’s Letter](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2023/september/editor-letter-0923.pdf)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2023/september/editor-letter-0923.pdf.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2023/september/editor-letter-0923.pdf.json)

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### Regional overview
- For centuries, arab nations led the world in the pursuit of knowledge and in scientific innovation and were among the most economically advanced places on Earth.
- Today, the Middle East and North Africa—nations with diverse political and economic landscapes—are at a crossroads.
- Recent decades saw major changes, including the Arab Spring uprisings, and not enough change, particularly in transforming economies to fulfill citizens’ demands for better lives.
- Several countries are mired in conflict. Debt levels in others are alarmingly high.
- “Though the region's challenges may be great, so are the potential and dynamism of its people and economic leaders.”

### Economic challenges and demographics
- Stability and social cohesion are ultimately at stake.
- Youth unemployment in the region is among the highest in the world.
- More than 100 million hopeful young people will join the workforce over the next 10 years, all anxious to be included.
- Progress will be limited if women do not have opportunities to succeed.
- The economic challenge is not merely technical—it is profoundly political.

### Policy prescriptions and reform priorities
- “It’s time to rethink the engines of economic growth,” say the IMF’s Jihad Azour and Taline Koranchelian.
- True transformation requires:
  - a more transparent and accountable public sector,
  - modernized economic institutions,
  - greater private enterprise,
  - more responsiveness to the global energy transition.
- Other contributors advocate:
  - removing barriers to equality,
  - challenging social norms,
  - confronting entrenched interests.

### Sectoral opportunities: banking, trade, and digital finance
- Modernizing banking and trade can play an important role; that requires lifting business and investment barriers, within the region and globally (Nasser Saidi and Aathira Prasad).
- The Gulf states—with their existing global links, increasingly diversified economies, and investment in trade infrastructure—can lead the way for the region.
- Digital finance has great potential to drive financial inclusion and economic growth (Amjad Ahmad).
  - Policy reforms to create a competitive banking sector and attract venture capital for fintech start-ups are highlighted.

### Geopolitics, climate finance, and women’s leadership
- Changing US engagement, China’s growing influence, and other regional political alignments represent a generational shift in geopolitics (Vali Nasr).
  - This shift will, he reckons, unlock new possibilities for the region.
- Rania Al-Mashat calls for equitable access to climate financing.
- The issue features three women entrepreneurs driving positive change in the region.
- The issue profiles Minouche Shafik, a leading economist whose career spans public policy and academia.

### F&D redesign and editorial note
- With this issue, F&D presents a redesign to enhance the reader’s experience with clearer visual delineation of sections.
- “I hope this creates a stronger and more recognizable brand for F&D as we continue to communicate thought leadership through each issue.”
- Closing line: Thank you, as ever, for reading. — F&D, Gita Bhatt, editor-in-chief

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2023/september/editor-letter-0923.pdf_