Inaugurating the two-day Government and Corporate Social Responsibility Conference at the Al-Qasr Hall at the Jeddah Hilton, Al-Othaimeen said, “The conference comes at a time when we need to muster all our efforts and join hands to achieve our goal — the goal being to serve the development process in our country in an excellent manner.

“Top business leaders are participating in the conference, evidence of the magnitude of the event and the significance of the purpose.” But on Wednesday, some speakers came late or not at all, altering the schedule and throwing the audience off. But this didn’t seem to hinder the men and women in attendance from interacting with the speakers that were present. There was active participation from both parties, revealing this new trend in public and private contribution.

“Corporate Social Responsibility is a built-in self-regulation mechanism whereby businesses would monitor and ensure their adherence to government regulations and ethical standards,” said Saleh K. Kamil, chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

“Business ethics come before profit where we should examine ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment.” Top Saudi companies, including Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority’s (SAGIA) Nora Al-Angari and National Commercial Bank’s Basma Abdulaziz Al-Jawhari, spoke of their CSR programs and experiences, giving the audience a template to success.

Mazen A. Balilah, a member of the Shoura Council, and Shakeel A. Habib, vice dean of Prince Sultan College for Tourism and Business, discussed development and concepts of social responsibility. They encouraged other companies to jump on the social responsibility bandwagon.

This conference reflects the intentions and growing conscience of both the public and private sectors in the Kingdom. Their efforts are noble and reveal a sense of sophistication in the Kingdom’s developing business market.