There had been times in the past few months when it was feared that the 9th Jeddah Economic Forum, which finishes today, might not happen. Not only has it happened, it has been one of the most successful. For years, the world’s great and good, its elder statesmen and economic gurus, have come to the Pearl of the Red Sea, bringing their own pearls of wisdom but invariably their advice — and there has been a wealth of invaluable advice over the years — was politely applauded and then politely forgotten.
This time there has been a very different feel to the event. The audience, which has always contained many of the most prominent business movers and shakers in the Kingdom, has not reacted as in the past — as if at a gala show, to be entertained and diverted for two or three days by witty and wise speakers before getting back to the ordinary reality of business life in the Kingdom. Instead, there has been a sense of real worth delivered, with delegates feeling that it related directly to the Saudi experience here and now.
Maybe, it was because the theme of this year’s forum — creating value through alliances and partnerships (in other words, the importance of interaction and engagement with the rest of the world) — chimed perfectly with the Saudi business community’s views on the subject. Businessmen know only too well that business inevitably involves doing deals with partners — but it was good to be reassured by speaker after speaker that this not only is right and proper but that the Kingdom wants even greater international involvement in the economy in future. The call for greater Saudi commercial interaction with the rest of the world from Trade and Industry Minister Hashim Al-Yamani, the support for globalization and the benefits it brings (rather than the denigration it often receives these days), the view that Saudi culture is not going to be swamped by opening out to the world and that fears of Western economic domination are exaggerated have been welcome to Saudi business ears.
Maybe, too, it was because the venue and the layout were different. It is amazing how something as simple as a change of venue can change the dynamic of an event — but changed it certainly was. Dialogue was not merely being discussed on the podium; thanks to it size, it was in action in the hall outside the auditorium. Rarely has there been such networking at a forum.
The forum also tapped into current concerns about inflation and social justice. The presentation by professor Muhammad Yunus, the founder of the Grameen Bank and winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, had hard-nosed businessmen weeping tears. When did anyone last see that at such an event? The difference of opinion between Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, and Muhammad Al-Jasser, the vice governor of SAMA, over whether the riyal should be floated gripped the audience’s attention.
A year or so ago, there were voices questioning whether the JEF had run out of steam and ideas. Who can say that now?
