Award recognises work on issues of youth unemployment in the region

Sharjah, 12th September 2013: Majid Jafar, CEO of Crescent Petroleum, the Middle East's oldest private oil & gas company, and Vice-Chairman of the Crescent Group of companies - has received the award for "Visionary of the Year" at this year's CEO Middle East Awards, held on September 11th at Emirates Towers Hotel in Dubai.

The award is in recognition of his work across many fields, including initiatives to tackle youth unemployment across the Arabic region. In addition to his executive responsibilities, Majid Jafar is Vice Chairman of the Global Agenda Council for Youth Unemployment at the World Economic Forum, and a Founding Project Board Member for the "New Vision for Arab Employment" at the Forum.

The CEO Middle East Awards ceremony and dinner, hosted by ITP publications, began also with a guest keynote speech by Mr. Jafar, on the subject of the "Arab Stabilization Plan" - an initiative for job creation and growth across the region based on joint investments in infrastructure projects.

In his acceptance speech, Mr. Jafar said that he was honoured to receive the award and thanked the economists and other executives from the region who have assisted his work in the field of addressing youth unemployment in the region, which he described as a major economic and social challenge:

"Youth unemployment is the major challenge facing our generation in many parts of the Middle East and North Africa, caused by insufficient economic growth in many countries, and the need for reform in education systems and labour markets, with 85 million new jobs need to be created in the next ten years. This challenge can only be addressed through cooperation between governments and the private sector, with a focus on increased investments and economic cooperation across the region," Majid Jafar said in his speech.

"The World Bank estimates that our region requires up to US$100 billion in infrastructure investments every year, and such investments if realised can significantly support rapid job creation for the new generation. Financial assistance and investments from the GCC countries, is already helping to bring economic recovery and growth to other countries in the region which are very important to achieve political stability which is needed for investments from the private sector as well", he added.

Jafar described how the objective of the Arab Stabilization Plan is to urgently create jobs, through coordinated private and public investments in major infrastructure projects that would enhance growth and improve economic competitiveness to create jobs and reduce instability.

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About Crescent Petroleum
Crescent Petroleum is the oldest private exploration and production company in the Middle East, with over 40 years of experience as an international operator in numerous countries including Egypt, Pakistan, Yemen, Canada, Yugoslavia, Tunisia, Argentina, in addition to its continuing operations in the United Arab Emirates and Iraq.  Headquartered in Sharjah in the UAE, Crescent Petroleum has international offices in the UK, Iran, and three locations across Iraq, as well as affiliated offices in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain. Crescent Petroleum is also the largest shareholder in Dana Gas, the Middle East's first and largest regional private-sector natural gas company. www.crescent.ae

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© Press Release 2013