Forum to Focus on Role of Businesswomen in Economic Development

JEDDAH, 1 October 2003 — The participation of women in economic development and the challenges facing the gas and electricity sectors will figure high on the agenda of the Riyadh Economic Forum, scheduled to open in the capital on Monday.

Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, is scheduled to inaugurate the three-day event at the King Faisal Conference Hall. Riyadh is hosting such an economic forum for the first time.

Organized by the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the forum includes a special workshop for Saudi businesswomen. Some 70 Saudi female academics and businesswomen are expected to take part.

The female delegates will participate in discussions related to women’s roles in boosting the economy and obstacles facing women’s investment and businesses. They are likely to call for studies on investment opportunities available to women.

According to recent press reports, untapped bank deposits of Saudi women are estimated at SR62 billion ($16.5 billion). The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) has opened a special center to encourage participation by Saudi women investors in the economy.

The Riyadh forum aims at meeting economic and social challenges and will debate ways and means to increase the per capita income of Saudis, create more job opportunities, develop manpower, improve investment climate in the country and enhance its production standards.

The conference comes at a crucial time when new international economic challenges demand a strong partnership between the public and private sectors, the organizers said.

Dr. Abdulaziz Jazzar, chairman of the organizing committee, highlighted the role of the media in enlightening the various economic sectors as well as the public on the forum’s objectives and the issues to be tackled.

He said preparations had been under way for the forum for the past two years. “The papers to be presented at the event will not represent the views of the presenters but those of the private sector,” Al-Riyadh Arabic daily quoted Jazzar as saying.