US says more entrepreneurship in Mideast and North Africa cam create jobs, counter extremism

Vice President Joe Biden has urged the governments in the developing world to encourage entrepreneurship as a way of combating extremism at a conference in Morocco.

The 5th annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit brought together thousands of officials, businessmen and young entrepreneurs from around the region over the need to encourage young people to start businesses.

Biden said: "In the Middle East and Africa, for example, there is a race to create tens of millions of jobs just to break even as the demographic wave of young people enters the labor force."

Middle Eastern economies are dominated by government companies and large family-owned conglomerates and young entrepreneurs receive little encouragement.

High youth unemployment has been cited as one reason citizens of countries like Morocco and Tunisia often join extremist groups.