By the Gazette Editorial Board Last week two important reports were issued by international bodies which revealed some of the reasons behind the economic and social troubles afflicting the world in general and the Middle East region in particular. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) issued a report on global military spending. The report detected a rise in world military spending by some 1.1 per cent in 2017 compared to its spending in 2016. The Swedish arms watchdog noted that some $1.739 trillion were spent on arm purchases last year. SIPRI said the five biggest spenders in 2017 were the United States, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia and India, which together accounted for 60 per cent of the total. The report shows that the weight of military spending has shifted away from the Euro-Atlantic region to some countries in Asia and the Middle East. Apparently the cause is the chaos and military conflicts sweeping the Middle East as well as an arms race between the big Asian countries. The second report that was issued last week by the International Monetary Fund covered the limited economic growth rate registered in the Middle East countries and the resulting rise of unemployment among the youth. The IMF said that nearly a quarter of the Middle East's youth were unemployed and warned that unless deeper reforms were made, millions of young people entering the labour market each year may not find jobs. These two reports reveal two important facts: the first is related to the apparent failure of the international community and the UN to reach peaceful solutions to any of the conflicts in the Middle East region. Secondly, it also reveals the growing economic and social hardships the Arabs face and will continue to suffer for some years to come. With deadlocks in the different negotiation drives for settling some of the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East region, this problem might not be resolved in the near future. The threat of more economic and social hardship is contained in the demographic nature of the Arab population, most of whom --around 60 per cent-- are below the age of 30. This could be why, the IMF called, in this report, on countries in the region to push ahead with deeper structural reforms to boost economic growth and to establish more development projects that can create jobs for the youth. Many Arab countries, including Egypt, work on attracting foreign investments to create more projects in their countries to help improve the economy and create jobs for the youth. Foreign investments, however, need real security and stability to flourish in any country. And this is threatened by the military conflicts sweeping our region. Thus settling these disputes by reaching peaceful, political solutions among the conflicting parties should be the top priority of the regional governments as well as the International community so as to cut military spending and direct the greater portion of national resources into economic development. Last week two important reports were issued by international bodies which revealed some of the reasons behind the economic and social troubles afflicting the world in general and the Middle East region in particular. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) issued a report on global military spending. The report detected a rise in world military spending by some 1.1 per cent in 2017 compared to its spending in 2016. The Swedish arms watchdog noted that some $1.739 trillion were spent on arm purchases last year. SIPRI said the five biggest spenders in 2017 were the United States, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia and India, which together accounted for 60 per cent of the total. The report shows that the weight of military spending has shifted away from the Euro-Atlantic region to some countries in Asia and the Middle East. Apparently the cause is the chaos and military conflicts sweeping the Middle East as well as an arms race between the big Asian countries. The second report that was issued last week by the International Monetary Fund covered the limited economic growth rate registered in the Middle East countries and the resulting rise of unemployment among the youth. The IMF said that nearly a quarter of the Middle East's youth were unemployed and warned that unless deeper reforms were made, millions of young people entering the labour market each year may not find jobs. These two reports reveal two important facts: the first is related to the apparent failure of the international community and the UN to reach peaceful solutions to any of the conflicts in the Middle East region. Secondly, it also reveals the growing economic and social hardships the Arabs face and will continue to suffer for some years to come. With deadlocks in the different negotiation drives for settling some of the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East region, this problem might not be resolved in the near future. The threat of more economic and social hardship is contained in the demographic nature of the Arab population, most of whom --around 60 per cent-- are below the age of 30. This could be why, the IMF called, in this report, on countries in the region to push ahead with deeper structural reforms to boost economic growth and to establish more development projects that can create jobs for the youth. Many Arab countries, including Egypt, work on attracting foreign investments to create more projects in their countries to help improve the economy and create jobs for the youth. Foreign investments, however, need real security and stability to flourish in any country. And this is threatened by the military conflicts sweeping our region. Thus settling these disputes by reaching peaceful, political solutions among the conflicting parties should be the top priority of the regional governments as well as the International community so as to cut military spending and direct the greater portion of national resources into economic development. Last week two important reports were issued by international bodies which revealed some of the reasons behind the economic and social troubles afflicting the world in general and the Middle East region in particular. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) issued a report on global military spending. The report detected a rise in world military spending by some 1.1 per cent in 2017 compared to its spending in 2016. The Swedish arms watchdog noted that some $1.739 trillion were spent on arm purchases last year. SIPRI said the five biggest spenders in 2017 were the United States, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia and India, which together accounted for 60 per cent of the total. The report shows that the weight of military spending has shifted away from the Euro-Atlantic region to some countries in Asia and the Middle East. Apparently the cause is the chaos and military conflicts sweeping the Middle East as well as an arms race between the big Asian countries. The second report that was issued last week by the International Monetary Fund covered the limited economic growth rate registered in the Middle East countries and the resulting rise of unemployment among the youth. The IMF said that nearly a quarter of the Middle East's youth were unemployed and warned that unless deeper reforms were made, millions of young people entering the labour market each year may not find jobs. These two reports reveal two important facts: the first is related to the apparent failure of the international community and the UN to reach peaceful solutions to any of the conflicts in the Middle East region. Secondly, it also reveals the growing economic and social hardships the Arabs face and will continue to suffer for some years to come. With deadlocks in the different negotiation drives for settling some of the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East region, this problem might not be resolved in the near future. The threat of more economic and social hardship is contained in the demographic nature of the Arab population, most of whom --around 60 per cent-- are below the age of 30. This could be why, the IMF called, in this report, on countries in the region to push ahead with deeper structural reforms to boost economic growth and to establish more development projects that can create jobs for the youth. Many Arab countries, including Egypt, work on attracting foreign investments to create more projects in their countries to help improve the economy and create jobs for the youth. Foreign investments, however, need real security and stability to flourish in any country. And this is threatened by the military conflicts sweeping our region. Thus settling these disputes by reaching peaceful, political solutions among the conflicting parties should be the top priority of the regional governments as well as the International community so as to cut military spending and direct the greater portion of national resources into economic development.
