JEDDAH, 18 January 2004 — Women dominated the first day of the forum. Following Lubna Al-Olayan’s landmark opening speech, a strong female contribution was again seen and heard as Professor Laura Tyson, dean of London Business School and a one-time economic adviser to former US President Bill Clinton, took the forum’s stage. She gave a powerful presentation entitled “Building a Foundation for the Sustainable Wealth of Saudi Arabia.” She detailed the important factors needed to build and sustain economic wealth on a global level and how Saudi Arabia fits in.
“There are six key policy initiatives by the Saudi government that are consistent with what is needed in an environment of growth,” said Professor Tyson. “They are capital markets and insurance laws to strengthen financial markets, the privatization of state-owned economic activities, the elimination of budget deficits and the reduction of public debt, the revision of labor laws to enhance private sector flexibility, greater focus on training and skill development as a part of the Saudization process, and policies to promote foreign trade and investment in oil activities.”
Professor Tyson addressed the challenges the Kingdom currently faces regarding job creation and growth. “Rapid growth in population and slow growth in non-oil private sector activities has resulted in a high and rising unemployment rate, a concentration of educated workers in public sector employment, a mismatch of educational qualifications, skill development and private sector requirements.”
She pointed out three basic challenges facing the Kingdom when it comes to sustaining wealth creation: Creating a vibrant private sector economy, fostering greater integration into global trade and capital markets and diversifying the economy away from dependence on oil revenues.
“What is needed is to build a bridge between the private and public sectors,” Professor Tyson told Arab News. “There has to be better communication and integration and more privatization. It seems that there are many jobs but also many expatriates. There are three possible explanations for that: First, there is no training for Saudis. Second, Saudis are not willing to take those jobs and third, there isn’t enough incentive for Saudis to take those jobs. A major challenge is the lack of post-education training and the provision of more job opportunities for women.”
Her speech was followed by a panel discussion in which she participated; other participants were Commerce and Industry Minister Hashem Yamani and Economy and Planning Minister Khaled Al-Gosaibi. Minister of State Abdullah Zainal Alireza was the moderator.
Hashem Yamani stressed the need for a proactive approach to improve the current economic situation. “Time is not on our side; the decision-making process should be faster in order to improve both local and international investments.” He also said that the Kingdom’s efforts to join the WTO were moving quickly. He did not, however, cite a time when membership would be finalized.
“Economic growth does not necessarily mean economic development,” said Khaled Al-Gosaibi. “Creating the required mechanisms to implement the policies adopted by the government is one of the major challenges facing the economy. The realization of these objectives requires a substantial amount of determination and resolve and the strengthening of the economy’s competitive edge,” he said.