MIGA’s Executive Vice President Visits UAE and Kuwait

MIGA’s Executive Vice President Visits UAE and Kuwait
Trip to Encourage Private Sector Investment to Boost Regional Growth and  Jobs

View the press release in Arabic 

Washington, May 20, 2013 – Izumi Kobayashi, Executive Vice President of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)—the political risk insurance arm of the World Bank Group—will visit  Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Kuwait from May 19-22.  She will meet with government officials and investors to underline the importance of the private sector as a tool for growth and jobs, while sharing knowledge about MIGA’s risk mitigation instruments. Kobayashi will also speak at a forum co-hosted by the Dubai International Financial Centre and events organized by the chambers of commerce in Abu Dhabi and Kuwait.

Kobayashi’s visit is her third to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as head of MIGA. It comes at a critical time, with political uncertainty persisting in the region itself and the economy still delicate in Europe—traditionally a strong source of investment into MENA. This uncertainty has affected risk perceptions and investment flows.

At the same time, the need for investments in the region that create jobs and opportunity is greater than ever:  the World Bank notes that close to 40 million new private sector jobs need to be created over the next decade to provide opportunities for a growing, young, and increasingly educated workforce. 

“The Middle East and North Africa region is at a crossroads,” Kobayashi notes. “We want investors and governments to know that MIGA is open for business across the region to bolster productive foreign direct investment during this time of transition.”

To demonstrate MIGA’s commitment to MENA, in June of 2011 the Agency announced it would mobilize $1 billion in insurance capacity precisely to retain and encourage foreign direct investment into the region. MIGA is more than half way towards that goal.

Kobayashi notes, “Recently we’ve insured investments in Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Palestine, and Tunisia. Our aim is to ensure that investors, private equity funds, and banks can more confidently enter riskier environments—providing a powerful example for others to follow.”

______________
MULTILATERAL INVESTMENT GUARANTEE AGENCY
A Member of the World Bank Group
1818 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20433

MIGA Contact:
Mallory Saleson, MIGA
Tel: +1 202 473-0844
E-mail: msaleson@worldbank.org

Rebecca Post, MIGA
Tel: +1 202-473-1964
E-mail: rpost@worldbank.org

Cara Santos Pianesi
Tel: +1.202.458.2097
E-mail: csantospianesi@worldbank.org