Director General of the Department of Economic Development (DED) of the Government of Dubai Mohamed Ali Alabbar called upon the World Bank to establish a fund to support young Arab entrepreneurs from the grass roots level at the closing seminar of the 2003 Program of Seminars, on the eve of the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)/ World Bank Group.
“We are calling for a new, more inclusive, way of looking at the region, and the challenges its people face,” said Alabbar. He was speaking as one of the panelists at the seminar on the role for business in building peace and democracy.
Alabbar also emphasized the role of the IMF in fostering transparent and well-regulated capital markets in the region calling attention to the fact that these had been “engines of transformation in America and Europe in the last century.”
“The IMF must continue its work here to foster transparent, well-regulated capital markets. This will leverage its immense human capital at home and in the Arab diaspora,” he said. “A fully participatory share-owning society is a key step to true democracy,” he added.
DED was established in March 1992, with the objective to organize, regulate and boost trade and industry within the Emirate of Dubai. One of its key functions is to encourage local and foreign investments in commercial and industrial projects, and create the appropriate environment for investors. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
