American and Arab business, political and civic leaders will gather in Houston on June 26-28, 2006 for the US-Arab Economic Forum (USAEF). Supported by the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), USAID and the US Departments of State and Commerce, USAEF 2006 will focus on improving economic ties and economic development as a source of societal change. The USAEF’s Strategic Partners are Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
This second USAEF had originally been scheduled for Sept. 14-16, 2005, but after Hurricane Katrina hit the United States and thousands of Americans were sent to Houston for shelter, the forum was postponed so that all available resources could be focused on those in need.
Building on the success of first USAEF, which attracted then US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, among other key speakers, the 2006 USAEF (www.usaeforum.org) promises to be a venue for high-level discussions addressing key issues in the US and Arab world such as: Transparency and accountability in governance and finance; human capacity building; trade infrastructure; public-private partnerships; and empowering women through economics.
USAEF has announced a preliminary list of confirmed speakers for the event. Participants will have the opportunity to hear from these esteemed individuals as well as more than 90 economic leaders, government officials and health care and development experts from the United States and the Arab world. The speakers from Saudi Arabia include Abdullah Alireza, minister of state, and Amr Al-Dabbagh, governor, Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA). Other confirmed speakers are Amr Moussa, secretary-general, Arab League, James Lambright, chairman and president, US Export-Import Bank, Abdullah Al-Attiyah, minister of energy, Qatar, Wyche Fowler, chairman of the board, Middle East Institute, and Sheikha Hissah Al-Sabbah, chairwoman, Council of Arab Businesswomen.