Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in Arab countries requires an additional $57 billion annually in investments until 2030, according to Arab Forum for Environment and Development reports. Countries had agreed on the 2030 deadline to achieve ambitious goals set by the United Nations, including eradicating poverty and hunger, ensuring health care, education, clean water and energy, and providing appropriate housing for all. Traditional sources of financing sustainable development in developing countries are international institutions, multilateral and bilateral funds and foreign direct investment. However, regardless of the importance of securing additional external financial resources, emphasis should be placed on mobilising and reorienting existing domestic and public financial resources, such as integration among non-official sectors in Arab economies, public-private partnerships, tax reforms and adjustment of price support systems, charities, remittances, and private investments.
By Vincent Mwangi