The biggest economic challenge that effects North Africa and Southwest Asia is their economic dependence on oil and gas sale and it's price. This is what drives their economies, and is pretty much the only significant income they have. So any disturbance in the price of this two products is affecting them significantly. The world is also moving towards greener fuels and renewable energy, which puts this regions in a very bad position in the long term. So if they want to keep their economic stability they will have to follow the world trends and use their natural advantages to be competitive in the world market, or other wise they will crumble economically.