The two gravest dangers to Arab economies come from Israel and privatization, said the former UAE Central Bank governor.
In a recent lecture, Abd al Malik al Hamar stated that normalization with
Israel directly targets Arab people, despite the popular rejection of ties with Israel. According to him, UAE businessmen avoid establishing joint ventures with Israeli parties, and he also said that governments should be caution with their privatization plans in order to avoid Israel acquiring Arab capital and assets. Throughout his speech, al Hamar outlined the huge economic differences between Israel and the Arab states. For example, he mentioned that the expenditure on scientific research of the GDP is 2.1 percent in the Arab states but 8.1 percent in Israel, which helps Israel widen the
hi-tech gap.
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
