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Annual Review of Development in Globalization and Regional Integration in the Arab Countries, 2009

Symbol: 
E/ESCWA/EDGD/2009/7
Issued in: 
2009

The economies of most Arab countries were less affected by the global financial crisis compared to other economies. Several factors contributed to the alleviation of the impact of the crisis on Arab countries, including the minimal dependency of non-oil producing economies, especially financial markets, on the global economy; and the flexibility acquired by major oil-producing countries from their cash reserves. This issue of the Annual Review examines the impact of the global financial crisis on the Arab economies. It assesses the performance of those economies in achieving regional economic integration and integration in to the global economy through analyses of the following economic indicators: gross domestic product, foreign direct investment, external trade, tourism, worker remittances, and oil and natural gas production. It also analyses a number of such important sectors as transport, with focus on railways; energy, with focus on the regional electric connectivity projects; and information and communications technology, with focus on such indicators as the averages of fixed and mobile phone lines and Internet subscribers compared to the world averages. The Annual Review concludes with a set of recommendations on ways to remove the obstacles hindering regional and global integration.