According to a report issued by the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) on "Financing Sustainable Development in the Arab Countries", the countries from the MENA region lose billions of dollars annually due to corruption in the implementation of SDGs.
The AFED report, which was announced in Lebanon’s Capital, Beirut, also highlights that the Arab countries would need a minimum of USD 230 billion annually to support the achievement of the SDGs in accordance with the plans of the United Nations in this regard.
The report also revealed that the financing gap in Arab countries with deficit has been estimated at over USD 100 billion annually, while corruption causes the same amount to be lost annually. Besides this, losses in economic activity due to wars and conflicts in the region since 2011 have been estimated at over USD 900 billion.
"There is indeed systematic destruction taking place in the Arab world and this destruction must be stopped by rationalizing our use of the available natural and economic resources in our Arab world," said Former Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Fouad Siniora, who attended the event on behalf of Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Saad Hariri.
Source: (Al-Arab Al-London Newspaper, Edited)
