The second panel “Economic Challenges” was moderated by Mohammad Chatah, Senior Foreign Policy advisor to the Lebanese PM Saad Hariri. The discussion aimed at identifying the economic challenges and the possibility of realizing and preserving economic stability. Most speakers agreed that the economic depression was invading the Arab region, and they had pessimistic approaches about the post-revolutionary markets. The only person who contradicted these concerns was former Lebanese PM Fouad Siniora, concluding with a twenty minutes speech in which he expressed his support for the Arab Spring, regardless of its outcomes.
If corruption and hard economic situations led to the Arab Spring, there will also be other reasons leading to financial crisis in the post-revolution period. Yasar Jarrar, Partner in PwC Middle East - UAE, warmed about the danger of entering a “cold winter” era because unemployment is thought to increase. Jarrar added: “the discussions about the economic situation are far from enough” reminding that Bou Azizi was not a political activist, but rather “a poor citizen looking for a job”. He further discussed with other panelists that the MENA region has no appealing business sectors except for the oil industry. Jarrar doubted the success of the revolution if not followed by an economic revolution.
From his side, Mohammed Al Dahshan, Policy Consultant and Writer- Egypt, stated that the aftermath of the Arab Spring will not save the Arabic state. Dahshan voiced his concern about “missing the chance to reform”. He was keen to point out that the current Egyptian army council is affecting the government decisions, which threatens the chances of any political change. Dahshan also stressed on the importance of entrepreneurship which is considered the “winning horse in economic growth”. He also shared numbers indicating that 76% of young businessmen and businesswomen find obstacles in growing their businesses, whereas another 63% are finding difficulties in securing loans in the post-Egyptian Revolution.

Chatah also asked Tarek Youssef, Chief Executive Officer in Silatech – Qatar, about his opinion on the unemployment and labor force after the Arab Spring. Youssef replied: “The Arab revolutions have gone beyond housing, labor and unemployment issues, although the grassroots of these revolutions are economical. The demands for freedom and justice are based on the thrive of the economical equality, and the rejection of the current economical systems”. Youssef also elaborated on corruption in the Arab region especially among the politicians that “do not differentiate between economical performance and self financial misuse”. He added that these actions lead to the reduction in political participation and marginalization of the civil society, hence making monopoly the master of the situation.

In his turn, Bashir Messaitfa; Senior Lecturer in Economics - Algeria, mentioned “the Arab Spring needs a complimentary economical Spring” stressing on the need to launch an economical revolution. Messaitfa was the panelist to highlight the high numbers of unemployment taking into consideration the 75% share that the oil industry takes from total Arab GDP.  He concluded: “It is easier to topple a dictator than it is  to topple a full economical structure”.
Jawad Al Anani, Senior Economist and Chairman of Albaseera Consultancy – Jordan was the last panelist to speak before audience Q&A. He addressed the audience about the cost of the Arab revolution asking “if the current Arabic institutions are able to face the future challenges”. He also mentioned that millions were spent in order to satisfy the people, but no change was seen on the ground.
Former PM Fouad Siniora asserted that he learned three lessons: the first is that reform is a necessity not in times of crises only. The second lesson is that there are two kinds of states: those who take advantage of problems and turn them into opportunities and those who create problems from given opportunities. The last lesson is that the Arab countries are always taking the west as a model, and this is wrong.
These interventions were followed by questions from the audience asking about the middle economic classes, per capita income and necessary goods vs. luxury goods. Siniora shared his opinion about the Arab Spring and was not very pessimistic about it, stressing on the importance of accountability and circulation of power (power shouldn't be in the hand of one person for a long period of time).