Speaking at a meeting of the Economic and Social Council at ministerial level ahead of the Arab League summit due to be held in Cairo on Thursday, Gheit said that striking this balance involves additional challenges in the context of climate change and environmental degradation.
He stressed that human potential in Arab countries is still not fully harnessed.
“It takes hundreds or even thousands of initiatives and programs to stimulate this energy, particularly through small and medium-sized, job-creating and labor-intensive companies,” he pointed out.
“If we wish to be a player in the arena of global competition, we must have an education that comply with international standards and meets the requirements of the fourth industrial revolution,” he said, adding that such a revolution, which drastically changes the nature of the economy, involves the adoption of a certain type of education based on creativity and innovation.
Touching on the scourge of terrorism, the Secretary-General of the Arab League noted that “the march towards the development of the Arab world has suffered a major setback in some countries whose cities have been devastated and destroyed and whose residents have been displaced and become refugees.”
He emphasised: “Unfortunately, our countries have become the place where half of the world’s refugees is found. The scourge of terrorism and despite the breakthroughs on countering it, is still challenging. Our fight against terrorism means protecting young people’s mindset by instilling in them the values of tolerance and a sense of identity”.