September 8, 2002	Sunday	Jamadi-us-Saani29,1423

MANAMA, Sept 7: The Arab Monetary Fund said Saturday investments in the Arab world had dipped since the September 11 terror attacks in the United States.

“There is a decline in investments and in tourism because of growing fears of dealing with several Arab countries,” AMF chief Jassem al-Manai told a meeting of Arab central bank governors in Manama.

Manai gave no figures on the decline in investments, saying only that “investors are scared of coming to work in the region which needs capital.”

The September 11 attacks in New York and Washington have taken their toll on the drive by the Gulf states in particular to attract foreign investment, seen as crucial to diversifying their oil-dependent economies.

Manai added that “Israeli attacks on the Palestinian people” and the risk of a US-led military campaign against Iraq were also “blocking development plans because of instability.”

“Several economic sectors, notably tourism, transport and aviation, have been affected by the events of September 11, which brought with it a risk of recession,” Bahraini Finance Minister Abdullah Hassan Seif said.—AFP