08 Jul 2022

Growth and Development of MENA Region - one of the main fields of CASE activities during the past month

Countries in the Middle East and North Africa continue to face multiple challenges: from low growth rates, through high unemployment and low female labour market participation rates, to declining food security. In June 2022, dr Katarzyna Sidło, Director of the Department for the MENA region, participated in a number of events that addressed some of these issues in an attempt to identify actionable and realistic solutions.

During a Regional Policy Dialogue entitled "What Growth Strategies for the Mediterranean in Today's Context?" organized by CMI Marseille, OECD Global and The Growth Dialogue, dr Katarzyna Sidło discussed the sustainable economic future of the MENA region focusing on its digital transformation, education and business climate. Recording from the session is available on CMI’s website.

Subsequently, she attended EuroMeSCo Annual Conference: "Towards More Social Justice and Inclusiveness in the Mediterranean" in Rabat, Morocco. During the event, she discussed the ways in which digital transition can facilitate expansion of social security system in Morocco. Her presentation was based on a chapter "Digital Solutions for a New Social Security Project in Morocco: Recent Developments and Post-COVID-19 Opportunities" prepared by President of CASE Management Board, dr Izabela Marcinkowska.

Subsequently, on June 15 in Brussels, dr Sidło presented findings from a report titled "A new agenda for the Mediterranean: Are the EU tools and means of action up to its ambitions?". The study was prepared by dr Katarzyna Sidło and Emmanuel Cohen-Hadria from the IEMed with support from CASE experts: Agnieszka Kulesa, Karolina Zubel, Oskar Chmiel, Michalina Wacław and Delia Agostinelli. Among others, the report stresses the need to prioritise improvement of the business climate in the region, find ways to merge the environmental protection goals of the EU and the investment needs of the Southern Neighbourhood countries as well as pay more attention to educating for the future and eliminating skills mismatch to help addressing the burning issue of high unemployment in the region. The video from the presentation during which key findings and recommendations stemming from the study were presented is available online.

MENA Team

Finally, dr Sidło moderated a discussion organized by Economic Research Forum (ERF) that focused on Conflict, Post-Conflict and Reconstruction in Conflict-Afflicted Arab Countries. MENA region is one of the least integrated in the world. At the same time, during the last century it has experienced disproportionate levels of conflict. Against this background, during the event experts discussed existing evidence on relationship between economic interdependence and conflict prevention, management, and solving. The presentations were based on findings from a research project Economic Interdependency and Conflict, under which dr Sidło prepared a paper “What Does the Literature Tell Us on The Relationship between Economic Interdependence and Conflict Management? An Overview with A Focus on the MENA Region”. The video recording from the conference is available on ERF’s youtube channel.

 

Watch a video summing up CASE activites concerning MENA Region: https://www.canva.com/design/DAFEZdwWmJU/4x1fSC_T3u3hcpUqmQHcaQ/watch?utm_content=DAFEZdwWmJU&utm_campaign=share_your_design&utm_medium=link&utm_source=shareyourdesignpanel