RIYADH, 7 October 2003 — The first Riyadh Economic Forum opened last night with a frank assessment of the problems and challenges facing the Kingdom’s growth and development.

From both floor and podium, there were calls by delegates and speakers for changes to the educational system, for less cumbersome bureaucracy and greater transparency in the system. These were key factors, it was claimed, to make investment happen.

Abdul Rahman Al-Jeraisy, chairman of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry which organized the three-day event, was the first to call for greater investment and education in technology. It was a key to the country’s future economic growth, he said.

The forum, organized under the patronage of Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, is the first of its kind in the capital. It will in future be held every two years.

Al-Jeraisy’s speech was followed by an in-depth, no-holds-barred presentation from Sulaiman Al-Mandeel on factors holding back Saudi growth. Citing detailed figures, he said Saudi Arabia was lagging way behind other developing countries in attracting investment despite its mineral wealth.

“Education is a problem,” he said. “Saudi Arabia produces the wrong sort of student. Just 5 percent of students graduate in medicine, 6 percent in engineering, but 65 percent in the humanities — figures that do not match the Kingdom’s job market.”

If it is to attract investment and grow, it has to reform the educational system, speed up the rate of privatization, create incentives to attract investment into rural areas and increase opportunities for women to work. Nonetheless, there are great investment opportunities, he said — in the gas and oil industries and in tourism. Even the growth in population could be an opportunity if there were greater technical training.

The presentation drew strong applause and was backed up by many speakers from the floor. Bureaucracy and poor administration are problems, said one to much applause. Another asked why, if Saudi Arabia had 25 percent of the world oil reserves, there was so much poverty.

Presentations later in the evening looked at the role of small companies as engines of Saudi economic growth as well as the challenges faced by women in business. The day ended with a speech from the chairman of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), Prince Abdullah ibn Faisal ibn Turki.

Today’s sessions cover the effects of government regulations and policies on growth, cooperation between the public and private sectors, the impact of government policies on the private sector, and the country’s infrastructural needs — gas, electricity, transport and industrial cities.

The forum had been seen by many as the capital’s answer to the successful Jeddah Economic Forum. However, in the event, the atmosphere, participation and focus in Riyadh has proved markedly different from the Jeddah forum. Riyadh’s is relatively low-key in style and attracting a smaller but no less motivated audience — at least on day one — and far more domestic in its outlook. There are none of the international elements seen in Jeddah; there are no high-profile speakers from abroad, no foreign media, almost no foreign diplomats and precious few foreign businessmen in attendance.

To emphasize the domestic nature of the proceedings, discussions are entirely in Arabic.

In his opening speech, Al-Jeraisy said the forum came after two years of hard work from businessmen and businesswomen and as the conclusion to several workshops held in Jubail and Riyadh.

Al-Jeraisy said both young men and women must be directed so that their energy can be used in the labor market. “There is no nation in the world whose population does not have a role in the country’s political decisions,” he added.

“We want to return to becoming the attraction for foreign investment we were in the past and to have foreign investors come here,” he said. But he added the condition that Saudi Arabia “must provide a proper investment environment and opportunities which are better than those offered by competitive neighboring countries.”

The event brought a further surprise. Prince Abdullah ibn Faisal ibn Turki, replying to a suggestion by a participant that the government should organize a committee to look into Al-Mandeel’s conclusions, said: “Enough committees. We have enough of those.”

“We do not want administrative structures that are organized by councils whose studies come out every five to seven years,” the prince added.

His comments received a large round of applause.