Thursday 6 September 2012

IFC in the Middle East: short of partners | beyondbrics

“Don’t forget, revolutions are expensive”, says Dimitris Tsitsiragos. He should know: his responsibilities as a vice president at the International Finance Corporation include north Africa and the Middle East, not least the countries hit by the Arab Spring.

The IFC, the World Bank’s private sector arm, has, in the last five years, boosted its annual commitments to the region by nearly 50 per cent to over $2bn. But, Tsitsiragos says it’s not enough: without more private sector involvement, the region cannot generate the investments required to produce faster economic growth and more jobs.

“There is not enough investment, not enough FDI, not enough international integration and not enough regional integration in the Middle East,” said Tsitsiragos, whose full title is vice president for eastern and southern Europe, central Asia, Middle East and north Africa.

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