Long way for Middle East sustainable development Filed on January 31, 2021 Badr Jafar, CEO of Crescent Enterprises Governments across the MENA region have been adopting strategies to reduce their reliance on oil and gas and diversify their economies. The UAE, for example, has set clear national goals for a more sustainable future through numerous initiatives, including a focus on the digital economy, boosting SME participation, and the UAE Energy Strategy 2050, which sets a target of 50 per cent clean energy by 2050. Badr Jafar, CEO of Crescent Enterprises and managing director of the Crescent Group, has emphasised the critical role that businesses must play in this transition, and its responsibility to generate the urgently needed opportunities for youth towards a more sustainable and inclusive future for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).