Press Release No. 10/96

Press Release: IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn to Discuss Economic Future in Post-Crisis World with Youth of the Middle East

March 31, 2010

On Sunday, April 4, in Amman, Jordan, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will hold a town hall discussion with students from eight universities of the Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan. The purpose of the event is to exchange views with the next generation of leaders on ways to address policy challenges facing the economies of the region and its youth. The event will be broadcast live by BBC Arabic TV, Radio and Online from 1506 – 1630 GMT as a special edition of its interactive program, Noqtat Hewar (Talking Point), moderated by Samir Farah and engaging the audience of BBC Arabic.

The students will come to Jordan after having participated in roundtable discussions held recently by IMF staff at universities in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates. The objective of the IMF Middle East Youth Dialog initiative, launched earlier this year, is to engage with the youth of the region to get their perspectives on their economic future and to motivate their thinking at an early stage on policy measures that will be needed to secure sustainable economic growth in the region.

"I look forward to discussing with the young people of the region ways to shape their economic future in a post-crisis world,” Mr. Strauss-Kahn said. “At the roundtable discussions, many students identified the need to reduce unemployment and poverty as economic policy priorities for their countries. These issues are of great concern to the IMF, and a number of the Fund’s programs help governments in this difficult economic environment to protect—and even increase—social spending, including social assistance. At the upcoming town hall, I will be listening, and also sharing with the students and a broad audience of the program the work the IMF is doing to help strengthen the economies of the region.”