The Jeddah Economic Forum (JEF), which opened on Tuesday, is being welcomed as timely because of its focus on growth through youth and also for the quality of speakers lined up for the three-day annual event.

“I totally believe that preparing youth is a noble task that requires the alignment and cooperation of all the concerned branches of society, including the public and private sectors, civil society and the academia,” Adnan Mandoura, secretary general of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), said.

This year’s opening ceremony of the JEF was very impressive and it gave a good image about the forum as it is dealing with a very important topic — growth through youth. Mandoura added that the topic itself is very important locally, regionally and internationally. With this forum, we will be able to see some change for the better.

Youth will have a greater opportunity to either work or become entrepreneurs.

Hasan S. AlJabri, CEO, SEDCO Capital, said: With the forum ‹s timely focus, we will be able to mobilize our youth who represent over 50 percent of the population. We believe that among the fastest engines, the most sustainable one will be creation of jobs as well as SMEs driven by young entrepreneurs.

He added: If we look at our 2014 budget, the way the government has prudently directed it toward education, health care, infrastructure, industrialization and others has to be appreciated. We are sure the budget will result in offering tremendous opportunities for our youth across the board. This is the chance for our youth to show courage, perseverance and commitment to hard work and pick the fruits that are ripe, meaning all these job opportunities, and small business opportunities are created through this dynamic and stable economy.

Nael Samir Fayez, CEO, Injaz-Saudi Arabia, stated that all economic data and demographic statistics show that youth is the driving force that will stimulate the Saudi economy going into the next positive phase.

“It gives me great pleasure as a person who is tasked with preparing more than 100,000 Saudi youth to the job market,” Fayez said.

He added: This year s JEF is focusing on growth through youth, which is very apt. I totally believe that preparing youth is a noble task that requires the alignment and cooperation of all the concerned branches of society, including the public and private sectors, civil society and the academia.

Basil Al-Ghalayini, CEO of BMG Financial Group, said: “It’s fair to say that JEF 2014 has brought back its old glory. The tourism session led by Prince Sultan bin Salman (president of Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities) was quite informative and useful, especially in providing an update on the investment guidelines in the tourism sector.

As for the organizational matters, they did a good job with the layout and visual effects, which impacted the most, Al-Ghalayini said.

Abdullah S. Aljehani, program establishment supervisor, Saudi Exhibition & Convention Bureau, described the JEF as the largest event of its kind in Saudi Arabia that is progressing well over the last 14 years. The expectations are high as this forum will give an opportunity to exchange ideas as many presentations will focus on youth enablers to jobs.

David Davila, head of economic and cooperation sections of the Embassy of Mexico, Riyadh, said though the Mexican diplomatic mission is covering the JEF since its inception, this is the first opportunity for me to attend this forum.

He said Mexican Foreign Affairs Minister Jose Antonio Meade was in the Kingdom two weeks ago and his visit was directly related to the objective of enhancing economic relations with Saudi Arabia.

“This is one of the most relevant economic forums in the Kingdom and therefore an opportunity for having dialogue and relevant contacts for Mexican businesses,” he added.

Tom Kenyon-Slaney, CEO of London Speaker Bureau, (Middle East), stated: “ The Jeddah Economic Forum is a superbly organized event with great speakers from both Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world.  Jeddah is clearly on a path of major development and it is exciting to witness the enthusiasm around this if they can get their transport infrastructure right.”