RIYADH, 3 January 2008 — Leading Saudi and international organizations have signed up to support the 2nd Global Competitiveness Forum (GCF 2008), one of the most prestigious and high profile business events organized by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA).
Following the success of the first forum held in Riyadh in 2006, many companies have shown their commitment to support GCF 2008, which will be held in Riyadh under the auspices of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on Jan. 20-22.
Under the theme “Competitiveness as an Engine for Economic Growth”, GCF 2008 is devoted to address some of the primary international issues with a special focus on improving investment opportunities in the wake of recent world events. Over 100 business leaders all over the world will arrive in the Saudi capital to take part in the forum. The forum will feature presentations by business leaders on key business topics such as the gradual and sustainable improvement of the investment environment in the Kingdom.
SAGIA Governor Amr Al-Dabbagh, chairman of GCF 2008, described the forum as a major event for Saudi Arabia and the region.
“Together with the list of high profile international and local speakers, the event underlines the prominent global reputation that the forum has gained for Saudi Arabia and the region,” he said.
Abdulmohsen Al-Badr, CEO of GCF 2008, said that weeks before the inauguration of the event, international business leaders have already confirmed their attendance.
The first GCF forum, held in November 2006, featured Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, as a keynote speaker. Among the topics discussed in the first forum were reforms taking place in Saudi Arabia which contributes to its strategies of attracting foreign investment.
According to the “Doing Business Report 2008” released by the World Bank last year, the Kingdom ranked the top investment environment in the entire Middle East and Arab world, jumping up five notches to number 23 out of a total of 178 countries. The Kingdom was also ranked as the 7th in terms of the fastest country to adopt economic reforms worldwide.
GCF’s main sponsor this year is Kingdom Holding Company.
The forum’s competitiveness partners include Mobily, formally known as Etihad Etisalat, the second mobile network operator in the Kingdom. Another partner is Boeing, the world’s leading aircraft manufacturer and a major service provider to NASA whose reported revenues for 2006 were $61.5 billion. New partners this year include Rakisa Holding and Dar Al-Arkan.