RIYADH, 3 October — Hundreds of Gulf Arab industrialists began a two-day meeting here yesterday to draw up a joint policy to attract more foreign investment into the local developing industry sector.
The eighth GCC industrialists’ conference, held under the banner “Opening up to foreign direct investment and its impact on industry in the Gulf Cooperation Council states” at the Cultural Palace in the Diplomatic Quarter here, will focus on the transfer of technology needed to develop local industry.
Inaugurating the meeting, Riyadh Governor Prince Salman called upon the GCC states to coordinate their strategy for an increased share of foreign direct investment in the midst of global challenges and the liberal investment climate attracting investors to other regions around the world.
“The potential is enormous since the Gulf states have strategic locations and enjoy advantages in terms of political and economic stability, a well-developed infrastructure, the availability of natural resources and a liberal investment climate,” he said.
More than 400 delegates from the Kingdom and other Gulf states are attending the conference alongside delegates from Egypt, South Korea and Malaysia.
Spelling out the objectives of the conference, Minister of Industry and Electricity Dr. Hashim Yamani said it was to push forward the Gulf states’ industrialization program through diversification of their economic base and reduced dependence on oil revenues.
He said the theme of this year’s conference had been carefully chosen.
“Many leading countries have realized the importance of foreign direct investment as a factor in capital build-up, technological advance, infrastructure development, as well as in providing job opportunities for the Gulf nationals.”
Dr. Yamani said FDI could also go a long way in facilitating technology transfer, promoting knowledge-based industry, developing knowledge, know-how and local expertise and in helping the secondary industries.
GCC Secretary-General Jameel Al-Hujailan told the opening session that despite serious efforts made by the Gulf states to attract investment, their share was less than one percent of the world’s foreign investments in the past 25 years.
Foreign investments in the six-nation alliance reached only $40 billion between 1975 and 2000, Hujailan said. “The GCC states are unique in their political and social stability which provides a safe environment for investment and a free economic system,” he said.
Secretary-General of the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consultation Muhammad Al-Musallam said the GCC states have more than 7,000 industrial establishments with total investments exceeding $80 billion.
The industrialists will study a number of work papers illustrating the experiments of other Arab countries in attracting foreign investment.
