ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how being Arab "pays off" as far as aid allocation is concerned. Statistics reveal that an Arab country is twenty-two times more likely to receive bilateral Arab Official Development Assistance (ODA) than a non-Arab country. It focuses on mobilization of financial resources for the development of infrastructure projects in the Arab region, especially those coordinated by the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD). The chapter discusses the increasing trend of intra-Arab investments, currently already representing one-third of aggregate foreign direct investments to the region. It also focuses on Arab labor remittances, particularly on how some Arab countries still benefit from the steady inflow of hard currency originating mostly, but not exclusively, in the GCC. The chapter describes how intra-regional remittances have contributed to some Arab countries' credit integrity and their access to international capital markets.
