JEDDAH, 16 November 2007 — Some 35 political leaders, economists and heads of multinationals companies from 22 countries have expressed their desire to participate as speakers in the 2008 Jeddah Economic Forum to be held on Feb. 23-26, Sami Bahrawi, president of the forum, said. They are expected to present 24 working papers as well.
He hoped that the participation of international experts in the forum would help expand the horizons of understanding of the Saudis engaged in identical fields, adding that the discussions about new economic cities were important because it would minimize mistakes.
Bahrawi said the forum would contribute significantly to the development of the economic, commercial, industrial and service perceptions in the Kingdom.
The two sessions on the first day would discuss “Kingdom’s New Development Vision” and “the Economic Cities,” and the second day’s meetings would focus on “the Energy” and “Government — Private Cooperation”. The last day’s sessions are set for “From Boom to Affluence” and “Industry and Technology,” Bahrawi said.
“Topics such as the economic cities have been included in the agenda because topics with special significance to the Saudi economic environment are selected for discussion in the forum and workshops. The forum is interested in discussing vital issues rather than hang around theoretical aspects,” Bahrawi said.
“The new economic cities aim at building the Kingdom’s export base and attraction of foreign investments in addition to creating thousands of new employment opportunities for the Saudi youth,” he said, adding that they (economic cities) would also speed up the economic progress of all the regions in the Kingdom.
Establishing theme cities is not a novel idea in the Kingdom as it has industrial cities for a long time, he pointed out.