Unprecedented response to Chicago forum
Published: Apr 30, 2010 04:16 Updated: Apr 30, 2010 19:43
CHICAGO: Business leaders and government officials have described the ongoing Saudi-American Business Opportunity Forum as an “unprecedented” success. Nearly 1,100 people are believed to have attended the event in Chicago.
The forum has attracted many of each country’s highly influential policymakers and businessmen, who have the means to transform the enormous hopes and intentions that have come out of the conference.
“My impression is that this event has been very successful. We have been welcomed with great friendliness from all of the business delegations,” said chairman of the Al-Jeraisy Group Abdul Rahman Al-Jeraisy.
“We want to collaborate with the United States as true partners. The Saudi Arabian economy is booming. We need what the United States has to offer — products, technology, and so forth — and we can promise that our economic vitality isn’t a temporary condition. The opportunities will be long-term.”
Sessions on a wide variety of topics from economic growth strategies, agriculture, petrochemical opportunities to infrastructure have continued, culminating in a banquet featuring keynote speeches by Adel Al-Jubeir, the Saudi ambassador to the United States and James B. Smith, US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Ambassador Al-Jubeir claimed that the Kingdom is experiencing and anticipating high levels of investment while Ambassador Smith observed that under a leadership that embodies both wisdom and political will, “the Saudi people are responding to current economic and political challenges from a position of strength and in the process fundamentally reshaping their society.”
In a luncheon panel focusing on creating a work force for the future, the focus returned to the Kingdom’s young population, one of the fastest growing in the world, and the strategies being implemented. These included educational initiatives, investment in knowledge-based training, and aggressive expansion of key economic sectors to ensure a future filled with opportunity for Saudi youths.
Keynote speaker Khaled Al Turki, chairman of the Al Turki Group, made the critical distinction that modernization is not Westernization. He pointed to the quality of teachers as the critical element in educational reform and student achievement. He addressed and debunked myths about education, including the fact that according to research, low class sizes, big budgets and/or increased technology in schools do not automatically ensure academic success. He also claimed that the key to educational success was autonomy, the ability of schools to control their own spending, and the skills and creativity of the teachers.
“A point that is dear to my heart is this — in addition to modernizing our text books, implementing best practices in reform and teacher training, we need to strengthen relationships with parents, promote volunteerism, and encourage compassion and civility. Nurturing the development of decent human beings is at the core of all of our religious beliefs,” he said.
In emphasizing the unprecedented scope and success of the forum, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi John Sfakianakis claimed the event represents for the first time that there has been enormous interest from the US regarding Saudi Arabia.
“This gives us a lot of optimism that the business community in the US is starting to see great opportunities unfolding from both the government’s $400 billion spending program and the private sector,” he said. “In addition to the huge attendance, the fact that this conference isn’t in New York or Washington but in the American “heartland” is an even more positive sign about what’s to come in years ahead.
“The Kingdom is a pivotal country for the Islamic world, just as the US is crucial to the West. We share common minds, values and aspirations. This forum has been instrumental in strengthening the many ties that bind us.”
