Mark Mobius, who as the executive chairman of the Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust is considered an emerging markets guru, has said the Middle East and North Africa may return to substantial economic growth once the short-term turmoil has subsided.

In a commentary issued for general publication this morning by his company, Franklin Templeton, Mobius said that, while economic growth in North Africa and the Levant would slow in the short-term, "the picture could probably change in the medium- to long-term if governments implement the right policies".