The Director-General of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, affirmed that "the social spending of Arab countries is effective, especially in facing the pandemic."
Georgieva pointed out, during a virtual seminar within the G20 activities, to "the importance of working to enhance the access of all groups in society to opportunities for a decent life by adopting policies that initially focus on social spending, engaging youth and women, in addition to closing the digital divide."
She also pointed out that "we have to act today, as the region and the whole world are in a transitional stage of transformation, and at a time when we are facing challenges as a result of the pandemic, there are also supportive opportunities resulting from the continuous spending to confront the pandemic, and the rapid digital transformation around the world," considering that “the decisions taken today will affect, for years and decades, the lives of more than 420 million Arabs."
Mrs. Georgieva stressed on "the importance of moving on 3 fronts or axes, which are improving health, educational and social safety nets, which can be financed through taxes on income, real estate and goods. The second axis is to increase employment among youth and women and remove obstacles at this level in order to ensure a more effective participation of women in the labor market, as for the third axis, is to close the gap in access to Internet services, as the Internet itself today means access to health care, education, trade, government and financial services.
Source (Al Khaleej Newspaper-UAE, Edited)
