Page 45 - INVESTOPIA ENGLISH PR REPORT FEBRUARY - MARCH 2024

Dr. Mohieldin highlighted the necessity of paying attention to low and middle-income countries
in a changing global economic trend and cited Africa, where the continent grew for many

countries from being a low-income region to becoming middle-income.

“Middle-income countries and the middle class populations are being squeezed, and mid-sized
enterprises do not have the same support as SMEs,” Dr. Mohieldin said.

“The middle needs investment, but [the situation] is not being discussed,” he added, and went
further and underlined the urgent need for investment in human capital, education and

infrastructure.” Dr. Mohieldin also noted that debt and development problems remain among

the most critical issues facing the global economy and are of great concern to investors
worldwide.

Dr. Bourguignon drew attention to the urgent need to take more steps to achieve carbon
neutrality to avoid the future repercussions that any additional delay in responding to climate

change could cause. He explained that the current framework in place for the manufacturing

and production of global goods needs to be replaced with a new one.

Meanwhile, Dr. Sheets expressed a more optimistic view about the global economy’s health,

suggesting that an ever-advancing technology ecosystem has confronted many challenges the
world has faced in recent years.

Concerning the UAE’s economy, Dr. Bourguignon said that what enables the country to face
the economic challenges the world is its flexibility and resilience.

In another panel, John Defterios, Professor of Business at NYU Abu Dhabi, spoke to three

government officials. H.E. Ryad Mezzour, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Kingdom of
Morocco; Jose-Maria Figueres, Former President of Costa Rica; and H.E Valentino Valentini,

Deputy Minister for Enterprises and Made in Italy; all contributed to a lively debate under the
theme: Navigating the New Economy: Global Economic Trends Challenging Governments

where the four discussed today’s rapid economic developments, technological and digital

advancements, renewable energy and issues facing globalisation.

Another panel discussion saw H.E. Khaldoun Al Mubarak, Managing Director and CEO of

Mubadala Investment Company, present a comprehensive review of the new investment sectors
the company has identified and spoke about the necessity of innovating new investment

methods and responding intelligently to the challenges and investment opportunities arising

from recent global economic changes.