WASHINGTON, 12 November 2002 — Prince Bandar ibn Khaled Al-Faisal, in his opening remarks to international business leaders at the Fortune Global Forum, spoke on the opportunities of open exchange, the Middle East’s economic potential for positive growth and development within the Arab world.
Prince Bandar, co-founder and trustee of the Arab Thought Foundation, and chairman of Saudi-based Investment Enterprises Ltd., acknowledged that "without such discussions, and impetus for change they offer, the region’s economic potential is likely to remain stagnant, reform unlikely and the overall climate uninviting to investment."
The agenda of the event hosted by Fortune and The Arab Thought Foundation, entitled "Arab Countries: Issues, Answers and Opportunities," focused on the dynamics of the political, economical, and social changes in process in the region, the impact on business if tensions accelerate, the politics of oil, and the challenges the West and the Arab countries face as it looks to an interdependent world.
Khaled Al-Maeena, editor in chief of Arab News, and featured panelist at one of today’s sessions, expressed concern that the threatened US intervention in Iraq would destabilize the region. "The powder keg is not Iraq; it’s the occupation of the Palestinian territories. Iraq is a defanged tiger, and the root of the cause of the problem is to give the Palestinians their rights, and Israel its security. This will defuse the situation."
Washington is the site of many foreign policy events like the Forum, which was held at the Four Season’s Hotel, but — said one participant — this particular event was well-timed: "This event was important for two reasons: It’s being held in the nation’s capital, and it focused on the need to develop a thorough understanding of the issues impacting the development of the economies that exist in the Arab world," Saeed Al-Muntafiq told Arab News.
Al-Muntafiq, director general of the Dubai Development and Investment Authority, added: "We in the Arab world have a problem: in public forums, we have a habit of being defensive and — very often — not listening, respecting or understanding the other view. It’s through these parameters that you obtain understanding. And that’s what’s happening today."
Discussion topics ranged from "The Impact of US Administration Strategy on Business," to "Dynamics of Political, Economic and Social Change in Arab Countries," to "The Politics of Oil."
Dialogue was lively, if not passionate: Responding to a comment about increased democratization in Saudi Arabia, Lubna Suliman Olayan, CEO of the Saudi-based Olayan Financing Company, acknowledged: "Improvements need to be done. But democracy defined by the US is not necessarily what we need in Saudi Arabia. Our version of ‘democracy’ has to come from within."
Another panelist, Dr. Hussein Hassouna, ambassador of the Arab League to the US, said: "The US needs the cooperation of others. It cannot overcome a terrorist threat alone. It must remember that the Arab world condemns terrorism, and it was its first victim."
