Amidst the present political tensions and instability, the World Economic Forum is convening the Middle East’s top economic decision-makers for a timely Arab World Competitiveness Meeting. They will come together in Geneva, Switzerland, on September 8-9, 2002, to focus on the medium- and long-term economic agenda of the region.
The high-profile gathering will bring together some 250 Arab business leaders, senior government officials and representatives of the principal multinational companies and international organizations working with the Arab world.
The framework for the highly-interactive and outcome-oriented discussions will be the first Arab World Competitiveness Report. The publication, prepared in collaboration with Harvard University, contains an assessment of the conditions, structures and policies that are integral to the region's competitiveness in the global economy.
The meeting will be co-chaired by Victor L.L. Chu, chairman and chief executive officer of the Hong Kong-based First Eastern Investment Group, and M. Shafik Gabr, chairman and chief executive officer of Egypt’s Artoc Group for Investment & Development.
Structured around the issue of competitiveness, the meeting's key themes will include macroeconomic drivers of competitiveness, designing the Arab corporation of the 21st century, the challenge of demographics, towards an Arab networking society. In addition to these key themes, some specific sessions will focus on trade women leadership and young Arab leaders.
Strategic partners for the meeting are companies that support the Forum's mission of improving the state of the world and are engaged in advancing the mission on a regional level. They include Investcorp, CCC, Dubai Aluminium, Faisal Finance, HSBC Bank Middle East, HSBC Republic, Kuwait Industries Co., National Bank of Kuwait, Shell and Xenel. -- (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
