Just before he arrived in Abu Dhabi to speak to the graduating class from NYUAD, Gordon Brown, former UK prime minister and now part of the World Economic Forum, gave a speech in Jordan urging Gulf states and individuals to invest in infrastructure across the Middle East.
The region, he noted, invests only about 5 per cent of its collective GDP in infrastructure, compared with 10 per cent globally – and as much as 15 per cent in a rapidly developing country like China. Take out the GCC from that calculation – where countries like Qatar and the UAE pour billions into infrastructure – and the figure for the rest of the Middle East drops further.
The argument is right, but the detail needs to be developed. There isn’t one solution for all the countries of the Middle East and North Africa. Some countries will require vast investment in traditional infrastructure of road and rail – big countries like Morocco and Sudan would fall into this category, allowing them to reap the economic benefits of easy movement of goods and people.
In heavily populated countries like Egypt, new schools and hospitals are needed to keep up with population pressures. Other countries will need power infrastructure – Lebanon, for example, though developed in so many ways, still suffers from poor electricity infrastructure, even in the major cities. And still other countries need to unlock the intellectual potential of their citizens, by building telecommunications infrastructure. Jordan, as an example, with a well-educated population, would do well to expand its internet broadband.
So there is no one template that can be easily imported, either from outside the region or from countries within it. Each country will need specific infrastructure to best reap the benefits of its population, economy and geography. Too often, however, politics gets in the way – decades of authoritarian rule in North Africa are the main reason it is difficult to travel from Cairo to, say, Tripoli or Tunis.
But that connection is essential to the Middle East’s future. Mr Brown is right that this is one of the great regions of the world, but it needs genuine connection to grow – connection between peoples, between communities, between businesses. By building now, the region can ensure a prosperous future.
