JEDDAH, 8 July 2005 — The three-day 7th Jeddah Economic Forum (JEF) would be held from Feb. 11 to 13, 2006, according to Dr. Ghassan Ahmad Al-Sulaiman, chairman, Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “Each year, especially in the last two years we have met and exceeded our expectations,” Al-Sulaiman told Arab News before the start of the press conference, the first concerning the annual event at the chamber headquarter here yesterday. “The event has gone from strength to strength and the upcoming year would not be disappointing,” he added.
Amr Enany, chairman, Jeddah Marketing Board, said the theme of JEF ‘06 would be “Seeding Potentials for Economic Growth: Honoring Identity and Celebrating Common Grounds.” The press conference was also attended by Saud O. Ounallah, general director, JCCI, and Emad M. Muguarbel, chief executive officer, JMB. Enany explained that honoring identity meant honoring diversity as well. “Identity is indeed an all encompassing word allowing for many voices in culture, not only in race, gender and age, but also in thought, perspective, and orientation.”
This year’s conference would try to answer how could identity, and hence diversity, within society and across societies, be respected, while building a world that all could be proud of. He said that Stanford University, California, one of the top two business schools, would be the academic partner.
“Stanford is at the heart of the Silicon Valley and that this is one of the reasons why it was picked as our academic partner so that we could try and learn more about that side,” he explained. “We are very fortunate to have them as our academic partners. Hopefully will enrich the forum and add more to the seventh annual event,” he added.
He said that JEF has always been picking partners that are one of the top schools. In previous years, the academic partners have been Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, John F. Kennedy School of Government, and London Business School. “So, along the same lines we are trying to maintain this high level of academic participation from Ivy League universities worldwide,” he said.
Enany said the process was on to prepare the list of guests and speakers, which should be ready and invitations should be sent out within the next month. After the holidays in September another press conference would be held to announce some of the names of those who have accepted the invitation and also those are under the process of considering acceptance of the invitation.
Al-Sulaiman said one of the aims of the Forum was to enhance the image of Saudi Arabia. “It is a local event with international reach and impact,” he added. He said the world was passing through a difficult time, which made correct and proper understanding ever so vital and necessary. He said that it is a platform for professionals from diverse fields, dignitaries, leaders from industries and governments, from the Gulf, Arab, Islamic, Middle East, and Western countries.
Ounallah said the Forum tries to benefit from the experiences of leading individuals and institutions from the Kingdom and abroad. “This year’s conference calls for the honor and recognition of culture, identity and diversity as the building blocks for a world of ‘common grounds’ rather than a global economy of ‘one size fits all,’ and seeks to underscore stories of success and actionable solutions both within and outside the context of Saudi Arabia,” Muguarbel said.