Half of the world’s refugees are Arabs

Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said on Sunday that half of all refugees “come from our Arab world,” agencies reported.

At the opening session of the Fourth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit, which was held in Beirut, Aboul-Gheit said that this summit came after a six-year silence due to the ongoing challenges facing Arab countries.

“Our summit was held after a six-year silence marked by the most difficult events that some of our countries have faced, and are still facing, all associated with the achievement of global development and response to crises and social problems that often accompany the process of growth and modernisation,” he said.

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“Although the expected rate of economic growth in the Arab region has slightly improved, reaching 2.7 per cent, it remains insufficient to achieve the desired development boom.”

He continued: “Despite the remarkable efforts made in recent years in terms of economic conditions, particularly in the field of infrastructure, transport and communications, the Arab world is still far from achieving its goals.”