Announcement: Due to scheduling conflicts of senior officials, the IMF Institute has decided to postpone the high-level seminar on "Growth and Jobs for the Arab World" that was originally scheduled to take place in Kuwait during January 17-18, 2012. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause . The seminar will be rescheduled at a later date. If you have any questions, please send them to CE1251@imf.org. Thank you.
IMF Institute
Growth and Jobs for the Arab World
International Monetary Fund High-Level Seminar on “Growth and Jobs for the Arab World” The Regency Hotel; Kuwait City, Kuwait; January 17–18, 2012
The International Monetary Fund is organizing a seminar on Growth and Jobs for the Arab World to facilitate an important discussion of socio-economic issues and reform priorities in the wake of the Arab Spring.
The seminar will take place in Kuwait City, Kuwait during January 17-18, 2012. The seminar will mark the official opening of the IMF-Middle East Center for Economics and Finance (CEF) which is hosted and sponsored by the Government of the State of Kuwait. Through its extensive training program, the CEF is expected to play an important role in strengthening capacity for macro-economic policy implementation in Arab League member countries.
Growth in many countries in the Middle East and North Africa region has benefited from market-based reforms embarked upon in the second half of the 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century. However, the reforms were not comprehensive enough and growth was insufficient to make a dent in unemployment and poverty. The seminar will provide an opportunity for senior policy makers, representatives of international organizations, and leading academics to discuss and exchange views on the reforms needed to achieve higher and more inclusive growth in the Arab world.
| 2:15 p.m. | REGISTRATION |
| 2:45 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. | Welcome by Mustafa Al-Shamali, Minister of Finance, Kuwait Opening Remarks by Masood Ahmed, Director, Middle East and Central Asia Department, IMF |
| 3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Coffee Break |
| 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. | SESSION I: Policies for Private Sector-Led Growth Chair:Eric Clifton, Deputy Director, IMF Institute Speaker: Nasser Saidi, Chief Economist and Head of External Relations, DIFC Authority, “Corporate and Regulatory Governance Reforms” Speaker: Mahmoud El-Gamal, Professor, Rice University, “The Role of Finance for Inclusive Growth in Arab Countries” Speaker: Ania Thiemann, Senior Economist and Project Manager, MENA-OECD Investment Programme, Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs, OECD, “Investment Policy Reforms for Growth and Jobs” Policy Makers Perspective General Discussion |
| 6:30 p.m.—8:00 p.m. | Dinner Keynote Address by José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Assistant Director General for Employment, International Labor Organization, “Growth for Jobs in the Arab World” |
| Wednesday, January 18 | |
| 8:30 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. | SESSION II: Labor Market Policies and Reforms Chair: Saade Chami, Coordinator, Middle East Regional Technical Assistance Center, Lebanon Speaker: Nada Al-Nashif, Regional Director, International Labor Organization, Regional Office for Arab States, “Perspectives on the Arab Countries Labor Markets” Speaker: Ragui Assaad, Professor, University of Minnesota, “Unlocking the Arab World’s Employment Potential” Speaker: Andras Bodor, Senior Economist, World Bank, “Striving for Better Jobs: The Challenge of Informality in Arab Countries” Policy Makers Perspective General Discussion |
| 10:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. |
Coffee Break |
| 10:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. |
SESSION III: Fiscal Policies, Governance, and Institutions in the Arab World Chair: Fawzi Al-Sultan, Senior Consultant, and Member of the High Advisory Committee, Kuwait Speaker: Martin Forst, Head of Governance Reviews and Partnerships Division, Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate, OECD, “Strengthening Public Governance: The Role of Multilateral Cooperation” Speaker: Benedict Clements, Division Chief, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF, “Fiscal Policy for Jobs and Inclusive Growth” Speaker: Rabah Arezki, Economist, IMF Institute, “Natural Resources, Institutions and Growth in the Arab World” Policy Makers Perspective General Discussion |
| 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. | Lunch |
| 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. |
SESSION IV: Panel Discussion: How to Achieve Higher and Inclusive Growth in Arab Countries? Moderator Panelists: Mustapha Nabli, Governor, Central Bank of Tunisia, Tunisia; Masood Ahmed, Director, Middle East and Central Asia Department, IMF; Yousef Al-Ebraheem, Economic Advisor, Amiri Diwan, and Former Minister of Finance, Kuwait; and Ahmad Galal, Managing Director, Economic Research Forum General Discussion |