LOC19:39
16:39 GMT
KUWAIT, Jan 18 (KUNA) -- The Arab Economic and Social Forum concluded its two-day activities Sunday and the final session concentrated on youth, unemployment and immigration in the Arab world.
Qatari minister of labor and president of Doha Forum for Development and Work, Sultan Al-Dosari, said Arab governments were responsible for encouraging the youth to participate in the development in the Arab countries.
"Paying more attention in the youth issues should be very high," Al-Dosari said at the opening of the last session.
Unemployment, he warned, has reached "high levels" in the Arab world, or 22 percent of the actual workforce. He said the annual increase in joblessness was around 1.5 percent.
Al-Dosari called for creating a balance between education and needs of the labor market.
He called on businessmen to establish a bank to finance small-sized projects to be run by the youth in order to eradicate unemployment.
The Qatari official called for minimzing the import of foreign labor and encourage Arab brains to return to their home countries.
Director General of the Arab Labor Organization (ALO) Ahmad Lukman said 54 percent of the unemployed were from the youth.
He noted that more than four million people would need jobs in the next decade.
Lukman appreciated Kuwait's initiative to call for the Economic summit and to face serious problems like poverty and unemployment which were threatening the living conditions, education and training.
Lukman, in a statement to KUNA following the session, warned against rising unemployment and noted that 18 million people were without jobs.
He said unemployment in the Arab region was nine percent, the worst globally. Unemployment in the US is seven percent.
ALO, he added, proposed the establishment of an investment bank to facilitate movement of labor and organize foreign labor between Arab countries.
Lukman said the private sector has a key role to creating jobs for the youth. (pickup previous) kt KUNA 181939 Jan 09NNNN