Dashti: New investment vision seen in Arab region

There is now a new regional investment vision aims at generating diverse expertise, providing job opportunities and building trust amongst businessmen, Minister of State for Planning and Development Dr. Rola Dashti said Wednesday. Dashti, who is also Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs, made this remark during her opening speech at the 15th Arab Businessmen Forum which kicked off today under the patronage of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. At the forum that tackles investment hindrances in the Arab region, the minister said that direct foreign investment has improved tremendously in the Gulf region in comparison to the rest of the Arab nations. This improvement has been a result of applying positive measures to attract foreign investments such as facilitating routine procedures. She stressed that the Kuwaiti leadership has played a vital role in encouraging joint Arab work and promoting Arab and international ties to achieve a rise in the Arab economy. She noted that the world is going through harsh economic conditions. She referred to international reports that indicate that direct foreign investment has retreated by eight percent, amounting to USD 670 billion. On the Arab regional level, direct foreign investment has been fluctuating; it was at 2.8 percent in 2011. Nonetheless, the GCC states pulled in the most direct foreign investment opportunities in the Arab region in 2012 at 50 percent. The minister stressed, in her speech, the importance of creating collaboration between the private and government sectors to carry out economic projects and pushing the development plan forward. The Arab businessmen forum is held annually in one of the capital cities of the member states. It sheds light on the reality of the economic situation in the region and promotes Arab ties to achieve the best economic development plans