Experts call for overhauling Arab countries’ budgets

Kuwait

Kuwait-based Arab Planning Institute organized a virtual seminar on financial and economic recovery from Covid-19.

The seminar called on overhauling Arab countries’ general budgets but in a way that would not affect health, education and spending on investment.

The participants highlighted adopting policies aimed at restoring normal conditions in the markets as well as diversifying sources of income in order to overcome the pandemic, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported.

They said dialogue between governments and labor unions was important in order to address unemployment.

Waleed Abd Mawlah, Advisor at API's Technical Department, said the novel coronavirus caused a complex economic crisis.

"The negative impact of the crisis shows how fragile markets are and failure of market mechanisms in the Arab countries," he said.

He called for supporting economic stimulus packages, particularly for projects with high workforce.

Belqassem Al-Abbas, API's senior advisor, said general domestic and external debts in the Arab countries had doubled over the past two decades.

Therefore, he added, it was key to restructure the general budgets but in a way that should not affect educational and health services, nor investment spending.

Senior expert at API's Technical Department Nawwaf Abu Shamala said the pandemic increased unemployment by around 10.5 percent in the Arab countries to be the world's highest.

UN's ESCWA said Arab countries are the globe's biggest losers because of the economic lockdown, he said.