Jordan Times
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
King to lead WEF delegation
By Alia Shukri Hamzeh
AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah will lead a delegation of officials and leading businesspeople to the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum (WEF), to begin Wednesday in the Alpine resort of Davos.
Held under the theme “Partnering for Security and Prosperity,” the Jan. 21-25 meeting carries great importance for Jordan this year, as it again provides significant opportunities for forming partnerships that can advance the nation's economy and bring to light its untapped potential, officials said.
Jordan's hosting of the WEF's extraordinary meeting last June at the Dead Sea catapulted the Kingdom onto the international arena as experts from around the world tackled the economic and political outlook for the country and assessed the government's socio-economic reform programmes.
The Dead Sea WEF meeting was seen as part of attempts to transform Jordan into a regional hub for economic and social growth.
This week in Davos, more than 2,100 participants from 94 countries are expected to gather. They include more than 30 heads of state or government, 75 ministers, 28 religious leaders, 18 union leaders and more than 50 heads of nongovernmental organisations. Over 50 per cent of the participants are business leaders and corporate officials from all economic sectors around the globe.
The programme focus is on seven key “threads”: Ensuring world security, promoting global growth, managing new risks, building corporate resilience, spurring innovation, harnessing the diversity of values and reducing inequity.
King Abdullah will address the political, business and academic leaders taking part in the forum on Friday. Top executives of leading international information technology companies will be among the audience.
Officials said the King's regular participation in the forum has helped shed light on the country's economic reforms and development achievements and provided the country with an unique opportunity to attract foreign investment.
They added that Jordan this year will zero-in on specific economic sectors rather than address the macroeconomy.
The delegation, comprised mainly of leaders in the travel, tourism and aviation, information technology, healthcare and automotive sectors, will address “governors” of specific sectors. The team's mission is to present solid suggestions for projects that will attract international investors.
Achievements made in Davos will be followed up during the next meeting slated for May 2004 at the Dead Sea.
The King's schedule includes a business dinner entitled “Jordan: Taming the tiger of reforms,” and a meeting with The Arab Business Council (ABC), launched on the sidelines of the Dead Sea forum in June. The ABC seeks to enhance cooperation within the Arab corporate sector and to promote competitiveness for full integration with the global economy. ABC groups more than 50 of the region's business leaders.
The Monarch will meet on the sidelines of the conference with key participants and representatives of the media. He is also expected to attend a session dedicated to discussing the Jordan Education Initiative.
The initiative, a pilot project endorsed in Davos last year, was officially launched at the Dead Sea WEF meeting. Jordan has been selected as the pilot nation for the implementation for the delivery of effective e-learning to citizens.
The project brings together leaders from IT and Telecom industries with Jordanian authorities to transform schools into model facilities whereby technology is at the service of learning and teaching, and information technology is integrated in education.
Some 100 “discovery schools” were chosen for the pilot project. The experiment will later transform to serve all 3,000 schools in the Kingdom. Information Technology is regarded as one of the main highlights at the WEF. The industry has been a catalyst and facilitator for social and economic development in many parts of the region. It, however, still faces challenges to development and expansion throughout the region.
The WEF is the foremost global community of business, political, intellectual and other leaders of society committed to improving the state of the world. Incorporated as a foundation, and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the WEF is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. The forum has NGO consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.