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Six Years After: Towards a New Social Contract

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17
4:45 pm April 2017

To

17
6:30 pm April 2017

An Economic Debate Focused on the World Bank’s new Middle East and North Africa Economic Monitor “Regional Prospects and the Economics of Post-Conflict Reconstruction”

By invitation, Rabat

The World Bank in partnership with the OCP Policy Center announces the launch of the latest edition of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Economic Monitor in Rabat, Morocco on April 17, 2017. The report presents the short-term, macroeconomic outlook and economic challenges facing countries in the region. The current outlook has shifted from “cautiously pessimistic” to “cautiously optimistic” as, despite ongoing conflict and instability, the report identifies positive trends such as economic reforms and the stabilization of oil prices that if sustained will lead to higher growth. The latest edition also has a special section on the economics of post-conflict reconstruction. Along with providing an assessment of the economic costs of the conflicts in Libya, Syria and Yemen, the report outlines principles for a reconstruction effort focused not only on replacing infrastructure but on strengthening inclusive institutions.

The conference will consist of two panels; which will be livestreamed in English, French and Arabic on the World Bank and OCP Policy Center websites, and will be broadcast on F24 Arabic on Friday, April 21st, at 4:10 pm Paris time. The panels will be held in Arabic, and translated into French and English.

Panel I: 6 years after the Arab Spring: The Economic Situation in MENA and the Prospects for Growth and Reform

The economies of the MENA region were all – directly or indirectly – impacted by a multitude of factors during the last 6 years: war, violence, political instability and low oil prices. How did all these factors impact economic activity in the region as a whole? How did Arab Spring oil-importing countries (Egypt + Tunisia) perform during this period? Is their economic situation better/worse than before? How did neighboring oil-importing countries react to the changes in the region and how did they perform (example of Morocco)? And how did lower oil prices impact the economic performance of oil exporting countries (GCC + Libya and Algeria)? In view of recent developments, many MENA countries have realized that reforming their economies has become inevitable. Reforms have started in a number of countries, such as Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, along with oil exporting countries (in particular, GCC countries). The discussion in the first panel will focus on the the current state of economies in the region and the prospects for economic reform. The debate will tackle the major challenges facing the region, such as high youth unemployment and very low female labor market participation, and the policies and reforms needed to address them.

Panel II– The Economics of Post-Conflict Reconstruction in the Region: Towards a New Social Contract

Violence and conflict have contributed to the slow growth in the MENA region over the past 6 years, as the civil wars in Libya, Syria and Yemen have had impacts far beyond their borders. Neighboring countries such as Lebanon and Jordan have coped with a massive influx of refugees, and countries such as Tunisia have had one of their most important sectors, tourism significantly impacted. At the same time, the prospects for peace in Libya, Syria and Yemen and potential recovery and reconstruction remain one of the keys to resuming growth over the next decade. The positive impact of reconstruction, however, depends on how the process is managed. The discussion in the second panel will focus on the principles of reconstruction, and how any potential effort should address the causes of conflict as well as rebuilding critical infrastructure. One of the common causes of all three of the regional civil wars is a breakdown of trust between citizens and their government. This panel will focus on ways to restore that trust and rebuild the social contract between citizens and their government, and the role of any potential reconstruction in that process.

Click here to watch live streaming

Agenda

 

16:45 – 17:00

Registration

17:00 – 17:10

WELCOMING REMARKS

- Karim El Aynaoui, Managing Director, OCP Policy Center 

17:10 –17:30

PANEL I: 6 YEARS AFTER THE ARAB SPRING: THE ECONOMIC SITUATION IN MENA AND THE PROSPECTS FOR GROWTH AND REFORM

MODERATOR

Line Rifai, Business Editor, France 24

SPEAKERS                

- Shanta Devarajan, Middle East and North Africa Chief Economist, World Bank
- Hafez Ghanem, Middle East and North Africa Vice President, World Bank
- Fathallah Oualalou, Senior Fellow, OCP Policy Center and Former Moroccan Minister of Economy and Finance, of Privatisation and Tourism, Former Mayor, City of Rabat
- Abdallah Saaf, Senior Fellow, OCP Policy Center, Political Scientist, and Former Minister of Education, Morocco

17:30 –18:00

PANEL II: THE ECONOMICS OF POST-CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION IN THE REGION: TOWARDS A NEW SOCIAL CONTRACT

MODERATOR

Line Rifai, Business Editor, France 24

SPEAKERS                

- Shanta Devarajan, Middle East and North Africa Chief Economist, World Bank
- Hafez Ghanem, Middle East and North Africa Vice President, World Bank
- Fathallah Oualalou, Senior Fellow, OCP Policy Center and Former Moroccan Minister of Economy and Finance, of Privatization and Tourism, Former Mayor, City of Rabat
- Massa Mufti, Co-founder and Chair, Sonbola Group for Education and Development

18:00 –18:20

Discussion

18:20 –18:30

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Speakers
Karim El Aynaoui
Executive President
Karim El Aynaoui is Executive President of the Policy Center for the New South. He is also Executive Vice-President of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and Dean of its Humanities, Economics and Social Sciences Cluster. Karim El Aynaoui is an economist. From 2005 to 2012, he worked at the Central Bank of Morocco where he held the position of Director of Economics, Statistics, and International Relations. At the Central Bank of Morocco, he was in charge of the Research Department and equally a member of the Governor’s Cabinet. Previously, he worked for eight years at the World Bank as an Economist for its regional units of the Middle East and North Africa and Africa. Karim El Aynaoui has published books and journal articles on macroeconomic issues in developing countries. Hi ...
Shanta Devarajan
Middle East and North Africa Chief Economist, World Bank
Shantayanan Devarajan is the Chief Economist of the World Bank’s Middle East and North Africa Region.  Since joining the World Bank in 1991, he has been a Principal Economist and Research Manager for Public Economics in the Development Research Group, and the Chief Economist of the Human Development Network, South Asia, and Africa Region. He was the director of the World Development Report 2004, Making Services Work for Poor People. Before 1991, he was on the faculty of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. The author or co-author of over 100 publications, Mr. Devarajan’s research covers public economics, trade policy, natural resources and the environment, and general equilibrium modeling of developing countries. Born in Sri Lanka, Mr. Devarajan received ...
Fathallah Oualalou
Senior Fellow
Fathallah Oualalou is an economist, Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South.  He obtained his PhD in economics from the University of Paris in 1968. Prior to joining the Policy Center for the New South, he served as a professor at Mohammed V University in Rabat and other higher education institutions in Morocco, and as an associate professor at several foreign universities. He is the author of numerous books and articles in the fields of economic theory, financial economics, international economic relations, the economies of Maghreb countries, the Arab world, and the Euro-Mediterranean area. In addition, he was the president of the Association of Moroccan Economists at the Union of Arab Economists. His political activism began with the creation, in the 1960s, of ...
Abdallah Saaf
Senior Fellow
Professor Abdallah Saaf is Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, Affiliate Professor at the Faculty of Governance, Economic and Social Sciences (FGSES) of the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Mohammed V University in Rabat, and Director of the Center for Studies in Social Sciences Research (CERSS), as well as founder of the Moroccan Association of Political Science. His research focuses on political science, international relations, policies and development strategies as well as public policies. Professor Saaf was a member of the commission in charge of revising the Constitution in July 2011, and member of the Scientific Committee at the Global Forum for Humans rights. Professor Saaf was formerly Minister of ...
Massa Mufti-Hamwi
Co-founder and Chair, Sonbola Group for Education and Development
Over the past 22 years, Massa Mufti has accumulated a substantive depth of diversified knowledge and experience in the field of Education and Learning across educational institutions in the United States of America, Lebanon and Syria. Massa is currently highly engaged in Syrian civil society and in supporting Syrian refugees in the field of Education. She is the co-founder and Chair of Sonbola Group For Education & Development (SONBOLA), an NGO that provides quality education for Syrian refugee children in Lebanon with special focus on innovation and skills. Massa is also a consultant at ESCWA on Education for Syria and has been involved in various consultancy projects relating to education management and development as well as in research projects that address Emergency ...
Line Rifai
Line Rifai, Business Editor, France 24.
...