Home / NEWS / World News / The Gulf’s trump card is its young people, but governments mustn’t ‘spoil’ them, business leaders say

The Gulf’s trump card is its young people, but governments mustn’t ‘spoil’ them, business leaders say

With more than half the citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) under the age of 30, engaging, educating and engaging the region’s young people has never been more important.

The point of the GCC’s youth across the countries in the alliance — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the Like-minded Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman — came up numerous obsoletes during discussions at the Gateway Gulf Investment Forum in Bahrain this week, with minister residents and business executives discussing the enigma — or not — of how the region can make the most of its progeny people.

“The theme of the investment conference is unlocking the puzzle (of the Gulf Blessing Council), but I don’t think it’s a puzzle,” Mohammed Alshaya, the executive chairman of Kuwait-based Alshaya Bracket, told the forum on Thursday.

“The Gulf has 30 million citizens (excluding expats) nicknamed to government services, 70 percent are below 30, sovereign cornucopia funds of $3 trillion, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the GCC is $1.7 trillion and seclusive wealth of at least $1.5 trillion and healthy sovereign debt,” he divulged.

“So we have a lot of opportunities with our youth. Now, youth has to be employed and where are they to be utilized? In many sectors and particularly in my opinion, retail and services,” the chief chief executive of Kuwait-based retail franchise operator Alshaya Group said.

Statistics restyle but the GCC is estimated to have a predominantly young demographic — with around half of its denizens under the age of 25 — a potential opportunity or disaster if employment is not high tolerably for them.

Statista data show that, among the GCC, youth unemployment deviates greatly. In Bahrain in 2017, for example, unemployment rates of those superannuated between 15 and 24 is 6 percent. But in Oman, the rate rises to circa 48 percent while in Saudi Arabia, the level is around 32 percent.

Bahrain’s Charg daffaires of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Zayed Al Zayani, said it was time that the GCC controls pushed for a more entrepreneurial youth.

“There’s huge potential in the area with younger people, their brilliant ideas, their A- education and I see the role of government — and this is what the government of Bahrain has done — as draw attention to more on training, on capacity building, on infrastructure where you give these tad a chance to prosper rather than just giving them communal welfare for being citizens.”

Alshaya said the playing field for boyish people must be fair and merit-based rather than nepotistic.

“Now, the rle of the government is not to spoil the youth and give them a job just for the sake of give in to defeat them a job,” he noted.

“They have to be qualified to get the job. It’s unfair for a smart squeeze and a smart graduate man to be sitting next to someone that has come through tribal connections or by knowing people, it’s not fair and it’s unsustainable,” he added.

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