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Countries
The Middle East and North Africa
Their geographical proximity to Europe and their global political significance make the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) an important region for German development policy. The area, often also known as the Arab world, stretches south of the Mediterranean Sea from Mauritania to Egypt, and east of the Mediterranean from Yemen to the Gulf states and on to Syria and Iraq.
The United Nations estimates that by 2015 about 395 million people will call this region their home. In 2007 317 million people lived there. The high rate of population growth is a major challenge facing efforts to foster development in these countries.
Water shortages
The Middle East and North Africa are one of the most arid parts of the world. Today, the scarce water resources are already over-exploited, as a result of which the groundwater table has already dropped across the region. If this trend continues unabated, the water reserves in some countries will soon no longer suffice for the population, agriculture and industry. In the Arab region, 57 percent of the demand for water is already met using surface water, which is also claimed by neighbouring countries in the region.
Climate change too is making itself felt. Total rainfall is down, and it no longer rains as often as it used to. As water becomes scarcer the risk of civil and international conflicts over water distribution rises. Desertification is proceeding apace and poses a threat to one-fifth of the total surface area of the Arab states.
Huge economic and social differences
Many people are leaving the countryside for towns and cities. By 2020 it is expected that around 60 per cent of the Arab people will be town and city dwellers. The infrastructure of the region's towns and cities is unable to cope with the mushrooming populations, and living conditions are often unhealthy and unsafe.
Growth in most Arab economies is based on oil production. The economies of these states is diversified only to a very limited extent. Agriculture and manufacturing account for a very small percentage of the gross domestic product in most of these countries. All in all the level of industrialisation in the Arab states was lower in 2007 than in 1970. The private sector has developed little in most countries.
The economic crisis and concomitant fall in oil prices have negatively impacted on the region's prospects of growth.
Unemployment is rising. Throughout the region the increase in youth unemployment in particular is a problem. A large number of unemployed young people and young adults are poorly trained, which means that the potential they represent is not harnessed to promote economic growth.
Income differentials in the individual countries of the region are wide. While the rich Gulf states seem likely to meet most of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, poverty is on the rise in countries like Yemen and in the Palestinian territories. It is estimated that in 2005, as many as 65 million Arabs lived below the national poverty line in their countries.
Authoritarian ruling systems
Most states of the region have an authoritarian ruling system. Many have experienced prolonged periods of martial law or a longer-term state of emergency. Measures originally intended as interim solutions have became permanent in many cases, with basic rights being ignored.
Citizens still have few opportunities for political participation. Limits placed by governments on media freedom and on the freedom of organisation are obstacles, while a lack of information, ineffective administration and a lack of transparency in decision-making further aggravate the situation.
Another problem is the largely patriarchal structure of society in Arab countries, which results in women being disadvantaged in social, economic and political terms.
Conflicts
In addition to the major conflicts in Israel and the Palestinian territories and in Iraq, development in the region is jeopardised by inter-state conflicts over the use of water, oil and gas. These are compounded by conflicts within the individual states over minority rights and self-determination for individual groups.
Increasingly, security risks are also posed by non-governmental actors and movements in the region. Poverty and oppression have swelled the ranks of groups that exploit religion to justify terrorism and violence in their own countries and abroad. These groups are a risk to regional and global security.
Priority areas of cooperation
Germany enjoys a high level of trust in the Arab world. The Federal Republic of Germany is very much in demand as a political partner, and is an important player in commerce, industry and development.
German development cooperation in the region is a contribution to the long-term peace policy of the German government. The yardstick used to gauge the credibility of German policy is the means used to bring about a peaceful solution to internationalised conflicts in the region, and the outcomes achieved.
The priority areas of cooperation are geared to the core problems of the region:
The German government is active in eleven partner countries in the region. Cooperation aims to enhance the foundations for self-sustaining development with the countries in the region, in order to close the gap between Europe and the Arab world.
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