Jordan Times
Friday, May 18, 2007
WEF to promote Mideast
economic diversification
By Ali Khalil
Agence France-Presse
AMMAN — Arab and world leaders are headed for a World Economic Forum on the
Middle East hosted by Jordan to discuss ways to advance economic diversification
and peace in the troubled region.
Representatives of the G-11, grouping 11 developing countries, are also due to
meet on the sidelines of the WEF, which runs on the shores of the Dead Sea from
today until Sunday with 1,000 participants expected from 50 countries.
The annual forum has adopted “putting diversity to work” as its central theme to
spotlight “efforts to accelerate economic diversity... [and] emphasising the
urgency of promoting peace”, organisers said.
King Abdullah is to open the forum by urging participants to exercise greater
leadership in conflict resolution, economic cooperation and development.
The G-11 meeting of Croatia, Ecuador, Georgia, Honduras, Indonesia, Jordan,
Morocco, Pakistan, Paraguay, Sri Lanka and Tunisia is planned for Saturday. Nine
members have so far confirmed they will attend.
The grouping aims to reduce debt owed by member states, alleviate poverty and
raise standards of living.
Dubbed the “Davos of the Middle East”, the WEF will feature several sessions on
political development in the Middle East, as well as on conflicts and violence
battering the region.
One debate will assess the changes in the US role in Iraq over the past five
years, and the regional impact of developments in the war-torn country.
The growing role of Arab political leaders in tackling regional issues — as many
international powers step back from the Middle East for domestic reasons — will
also be debated.
Participants will likewise discuss the increased appeal of Islamic political
parties in the Middle East.
High-level Palestinian-Israeli talks dominated last year’s WEF held in Egypt,
while the forum in Jordan is due to bring together Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas and Israel’s Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.
With dozens killed this week in factional clashes in Gaza, the embattled
Palestinian president is expected to give a speech on the final day, rather than
on Friday as originally planned.
His office said Abbas plans to meet Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres
as well as Livni.
On the economic front, “Industries of the Future” and “Driving for
Diversification” are titles of two sessions that will address the impact of the
oil boom which has inflated the receipts of oil producing countries.
Their progress in reducing dependence on oil will also be discussed.
A WEF report said in April that the United Arab Emirates topped the most
competitive Arab economies, followed by Qatar and Kuwait, but the UAE came only
29th worldwide.
In the 2005 report, WEF said Arab countries must significantly raise their
competitiveness if they are to remain viable in the global economy in areas
other than the energy sector.
Environmental issues are also expected to be addressed by participants as many
countries in the region face an energy shortage, with very few making tentative
moves towards clean renewable sources of energy.
High profile speakers include Queen Rania, Sheikh Mohammad Ben Rashid Al Maktoum,
who is UAE prime minister and ruler of booming Dubai, as well as Prince Turki Al
Faisal, a former Saudi ambassador to the United States.
Other prominent guests include Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Pakistani Prime
Minister Shawkat Aziz and British Home Secretary John Reid.