An Arab Renaissance against all odds?

Pan-Arabism, which crystallised during the 50′s and 60′s of the last century as a quasi secular socialist movement is, by all accounts, dead. The Arab Intelligentsia has grieved and mourned for the last four decades the premature death of a promising progressive movement. Arab unity movements, from the ocean to the ocean, have been spiralling downwards towards oblivion.

Far from taking any steps towards institutionalized political unity, the Arabs of today appear incapable of reaching any agreement in response to any of the serious and dangerous situations facing the Arabs collectively. Any follower of mediatised intra-Arab political or social debates would note the absurd pattern where the majority of debates amongst Arab representatives turn into un-intelligible disputes, worthy only of sighs of frustration and disbelief. Read More »

Arbitration & mediation in the Arab world: a growing phenomenon

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms in the Arab world have been growing hand in hand with the resurgence of various countries as members of the fast growing club of successful emerging markets. The flexibility of arbitration, mediation and other ADR methods, as well as their speed, efficiency and confidentiality, have made them more attractive to investors and parties in contracts of an international nature. Consequently, a significant number of Arab countries have been busy updating and enhancing their laws and regulations on arbitration and mediation in particular. There is momentum behind ADR in the region. Read More »

What’s missing in the GCC states? Well…

Lengthy reports by international institutions are often long to digest. But when the process starts, it nourishes lively discussions. It is what is happening in the case of a much-acclaimed World Bank report, titled the “Road Less Traveled”, released back in February 2008. This report aims to support policymakers in the Middle East and North Africa (“MENA”) region develop more effective education strategies that is based on global and regional experience in the sector.

The key messages of the report are as follows. Education is at the crossroads for the future of MENA. It plays crucial role in promoting poverty alleviation and economic growth, both at national and household levels. Various stakeholders in the region regard education as their most important development challenge, and education reform is on top of the reform agenda of many regional governments.

Having succeeded in expanding the education systems to include most eligible children, boys and girls, the MENA region is now ready to travel a new road. While the exact configuration of this new road will not be the same for each country, all countries, irrespective of their initial conditions, will require a shift from “engineering inputs” to “engineering for results”, along with a combination of incentives and public accountability measures, as well as measures to improve labor market outcomes.

Finally, labor market reforms will need to be implemented hand in hand with those for the education system proper. In the case of MENA, the relevant labor market extends much farther than the confines of any country or even the region because of important migration trends and opportunities.

Read More »

Jordan: Cost Reduction Versus Tax Reduction

The plate du Jour in most Jordanian newspapers today is a discussion and a debate on taxes. The proponents of tax reduction argue that it would induce additional investments, thus expanding the economy and increasing the size of the pie from which tax revenues can be extracted. Those in the opposite camp, who advocate keeping the tax code as is, are concerned with the expanding deficit and argue that companies which generate the highest tax revenues will not be induced to invest further because of a reduction in taxation, and that any resulting savings will go to the bottom line. The debate is still raging.

The area where few dare to tread is the concept of cost/waste reduction as a means of enhancing revenues or making each Dinar count. Divining cost saving methods requires relevant experience* and hard work. It does not lend itself to slogans and is not particularly glamorous. One remembers the decision of the Water Authority to fix leaking pipes throughout the city of Amman. It was estimated that fixing the pipes is tantamount to increasing the water supply by 30%!

What is required today is a handyman with cross jurisdictional ministerial authority to do the fixing wherever it is required.

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The GCC and Iraq: What’s Happening?

Member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), led by Bahrain, have declined to offer Iraq an immediate path to membership of the body that carries substantial economical and political clout in the region, but the question needs to be asked, does Iraq really need to be a member of the GCC?

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates proposed the idea in Manama, Bahrain, last weekend. Addressing the Manama Dialogue, Gates suggested that Iraq should be included in regional organizations in order to help bolster its rehabilitation.

“If you look closely at Iraq’s economic and political potential, about what it can offer the Middle East, you will see that it is in everyone’s strategic interests to support the new government and the people of Iraq in whatever way you can.

“Iraq can only play a constructive role in this region if it is on an equal footing diplomatically, which also requires its government to take proactive steps, such as continuing to appoint its own ambassadors,” Gates said.

“Regional engagement also means that Iraq should be included in regional forums for economic and security cooperation, and considered for membership in Middle East organizations,” he added.

This is not the first time that the U.S. has sought to tie Iraq to the GCC, but this latest call comes at a time when violence is low and the economic opportunities on offer are leading the war torn country to be labeled an ‘emerging market’ like its Gulf neighbours. It also comes on the back of the recently signed agreement that will see U.S. force leave the country by the end of 2011, thus removing a significant obstacle to warmer Arab relations with Baghdad. Read More »

Dubai Airport Free Zone: Beyond the Economic Crisis

In an exclusive interview with ArabComment, Ibrahim Ahli, Director of Marketing at Dubai Airport Free Zone (DAFZ), explains why Dubai is the only place to set up operations in the region, how expansion plans look beyond the UAE, and why British companies are so valued.

ArabComment: How do you think that Dubai will perform during the global financial crisis, and how will your operations be affected?

Ahli: Actually our operations have not been affected at all by the financial crisis in the world because we still have companies establishing at the Dubai Airport Free Zone and asking for office spaces for the region. I’ll give you an example: we have now more companies from Japan, who would like to establish their offices in Dubai, and our location is an ideal location for them because they want to shift their operations of selling their products to the United States, and shifting it to other new markets, so Middle East, Russia, India are new markets for the Japanese companies.

ArabComment: Would you say that you’re offering a respite from the current financial crisis and that Dubai is a kind of a safe haven? Read More »

Iraq: A Business Risk Worth Taking

Organisations looking to invest in developing countries need to look beyond generic labels such as ‘BRIC’, and the associations made with geographical regions, and should evaluate countries on an individual basis to discover their true value, according to Richard Fenning, CEO, Control Risks Group.

Speaking at the Economist’s Emerging Markets Summit in London, Fenning said that a term that lumps multiple countries into a single group “supposes a kind of homogeneous nature” is not an accurate assessment of the reality on the ground.

But even when investors look past a country’s regional position, the ‘country brand’ – perceptions of a country fuelled by external commentators such as the media, analysts, international bodies – can distort a true analysis of the risks involved.

“We have to stop looking at the world in terms of these various categories: developing economies, BRIC economies and the next level down, and look at them seriously as independent.” Fenning said.

For those organisations willing to take a ground up approach and understand the local climate for themselves, Fenning reasons, opportunities do exist.

Iraq as the ‘phenomenal risk story’ for 2009

Iraq has, for the past five years, dominated Western news coverage with harrowing tales of sectarian strife, mass suicide bombings, and the collapse of social order and public services. Read More »

Brand Jordan Has Lost Its Way

A couple days ago this story on the closing of popular Books@Café in Jordan slapped me with incredible clarity about many things I’ve been struggling with for a while. When I first read it, I thought, give me a break, that was predictable, another year of the same old confusion during Ramadan.

Then I realized this story comes shortly after this remarkable Jordanian blogger, Ajloun, calls it quits, after seemingly never ending tales of corruption revolving around public officials. This is happening in a country facing political, economic and social challenges all taking a heavy toll, with a local media in a perpetual downward spiral, and an extremely frustrated people.

Brand Jordan is bust. Brand Jordan is in the worse shape ever, it seems. Read More »

Fouad Siniora in Iraq: Progress Between Iraq and Lebanon?

Prime Minister Fouad Siniora traveled to Baghdad last week, becoming the first Lebanese leader to visit Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein. This was a further step toward Iraqi reconciliation with its Arab neighbours and a step toward the restoration of commercial relations between two former trading partners.

The announcement came a day after Iraqi government spokesman Ali Al-Dabbagh announced that seven Arab countries are set to reopen their embassies in Baghdad this year. These countries include Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, Algeria and Morocco.

Jordan also recently announced that it would reopen its embassy to Iraq after the historic visit of King Abdullah, who became the first Arab head of state to do so since the 2003 invasion that toppled the former regime.

Lebanon is only one of five Arab states to currently have an embassy in Iraq, alongside Syria, Palestine, Yemen, Lebanon and Tunisia, which it opened in 2006. Official relations had been strained for six years between 1994 and 2000 when Lebanon broke its relations with Iraq in 1994 following the murder of an Iraqi dissident in Lebanon.

Sinioria travelled to Baghdad to discuss trade and energy, his spokesman quoted by the AFP as saying: “The discussions with Iraqi leaders will be on bilateral relations and particularly trade and oil.”

Renewed relations with Lebanon would be a positive sign for Maliki’s government, and both countries share a similar recent history. Read More »

Iraq’s Money and America’s Responsibility

$80 billion can buy a lot of things – a tropical island or ten Caecescu palaces jump to mind – but what it can’t buy is infrastructure for a country with a population of almost 28 million people that is emerging from five years of ruinous geo-political and sectarian conflict.

As violence tapers off, oil exports increase, and global crude prices remain high, Iraq’s economy is set to grow by 8 percent in 2008 and will end the year with a predicted $79 billion budget surplus, according to a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

But with the U.S. presidential campaign in full swing the Democrats are lashing out at Iraq for draining American money and American lives. The media machine has been in overdrive, with scathing attacks from both neo-con and liberal commentators scoring points on the same issues: U.S. lives, U.S. money, and the impact on the lives of U.S. consumers.

They demand that Iraq now pay is own way for reconstruction and embrace a potentially tragic cut-and-run strategy that could lead to further internal and regional instability. Read More »