Though the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has weathered the recent global financial and economic crisis relatively well, it still faces daunting medium-term challenges. These include high unemployment (especially among young people), vulnerability to oil and food price shocks and...

Financial inclusion is about introducing justice and equity in financial systems and focuses on: (i) extending financial services to previously excluded populations and micro-entrepreneurs; (ii) empowering the poor and low income populations that have largely been excluded from access to...

The Luxor Education Roundtable (March 19-20, 2010) on the quality of education: the gateway to employability was jointly organized between Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieldin of Egypt and the World Bank. The round table is a direct response to a request from the Government of Egypt (GoE) to...

The March 24, 2010 ministerial consultation to discuss regional cooperation and integration initiatives for the Arab world was a key milestone in the Arab world initiative, one of the six strategic directions outlined by President Zoellick in October 2007. This important first round of regional...

The cause of good governance, integrity, transparency, and anticorruption is vital for facilitating private sector led growth and development throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. There are many different ways in which weak governance can impede development. It compromises...