People have the right to ask what benefits, if any, the Saudi economy has gained from the Jeddah Economic Forum through its successive sessions, ever since it was first convened six years ago. My answer to such a question would have been that we gained the good reputation the forum brought us abroad had it not been for one thing.
I happened to be outside the Kingdom when the latest round of JEF was held last month. I searched everywhere to find even a bit of news about the forum but to no avail. There was nothing to tell if the forum was held in the first place.
Our problem in this country is that we tend to blindly copy whatever others do. Some amongst us have realized that economic forums have turned into am international craze during the past decade. So, they decided to follow suit and cope with whatever is taking place abroad even if this means no one outside our country would bother about the forums we organize except our dear guest participants who sell us repetitive speeches.
The last forum was the sixth of its kind to be hosted in Jeddah. To this day I don’t know exactly what it is that the people of this country and the city of Jeddah in particular have gained starting from the first forum until the last one. What is it that humanity gained from all these gatherings?
Some may argue that the human and cultural significance of these forums far exceeds their importance of being venues for concluding business deals and attract investments.
Some may also tell us that we stand to benefit a lot from the rich and diverse experience of the guests whose proposals and ideas would benefit not only our country but humanity at large.
Had those individuals made a little research, they would have discovered that the proposals and ideas presented by the guest participants were already contained in dozens of recorded speeches and written papers, books and other documents.
I hope the organizers of the Jeddah Economic Forum would in future judge and evaluate the conference in a more objective manner, away from the false glamour and distinction that may overshadow the forum’s real value and significance.
