RIYADH: Saudi Arabia, a core partner nation in laying the foundation for a strong and modernized global economy, is on the verge of meeting a goal set forth “with grand ambitions to be one of the top 10 most competitive nations in the world,” said Amr Al-Dabbagh, governor of Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) while opening the 4th Global Competitiveness Forum (GCF) here Saturday night.
A number of high-profile speakers, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, arrived in Riyadh to address the GCF on Sunday. The forum runs through Tuesday.
In his inaugural address on behalf of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, Al-Dabbagh said that Saudi Arabia would soon unveil a so-called “60x24x7” service (60 minutes, 24 hours and seven days) to assist investors seeking opportunities in the Kingdom.
Al-Dabbagh pointed out that Saudi Arabia ranked 14th in the world in foreign direct investment.
“The Kingdom’s business environment needs to consistently meet or exceed international standards in order to further improve or compete with the world’s best,” he said.
The Global Competitiveness Report has examined 12 pillars of competitiveness in each of the 133 countries it covered. Referring to the programs of the GCF, the SAGIA chief said that 100 prominent speakers will attend the forum to discuss the top issues and challenges facing the international economy from various perspectives.
Some of the prominent names in attendance include Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf, Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency Gov. Mohammed Al-Jasser, GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt, Dell Inc. CEO Michael Dell, British Airways Chairman Martin Broughton as well as a number of regional leading businessmen, economists and politicians.
Other important speakers at the forum include Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers and Wolfensohn & Company, LLC Chairman James Wolfensohn.
Abdul Mohsen Al-Badr, CEO of the GCF, said that the forum has become an important intellectual meeting point for world business leaders, influential academics and pioneers of new business thinking.
Al-Dabbagh said the event has been launched with the theme of “Sustainable Competitiveness”, and will include 15 workshops that will look at concepts of understanding, incentives and requirements involved in achieving sustainable competitiveness.
A number of initiatives will be launched during the three-day event, such as the Saudi First Growth, RCI-Responsible Competitiveness Index, FDI and move to raise the level of competitiveness of both the private and government sectors in the Kingdom.
On the sidelines of the forum, a celebration will mark the Saudi-Oxford initiative (SOLF-2010) that aims to train Saudi leaders in both private and government sectors at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and Oxford University.
On the second day of the forum, winners of King Khaled Competitiveness Award will be honored. The award will be given to the three best business entities according to the indicator of responsible competitiveness category, which is the first indicator in the Middle East to evaluate the social responsibility of companies. Also, 100 growing companies of the Kingdom will be recognized during the forum.
On Sunday, Abdul Aziz Al-Tamami, Mobily’s chief operating officer, is expected to highlight the importance of training manpower to reach corporate targets. Al-Tamami will discuss Mobily’s experience in this regard and the success the company accomplished.
