JEDDAH, 10 September 2003 — Top Arab officials including four industry ministers and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa will attend an international conference on promoting Arab industrial investment on the sidelines of an Arab industrial exhibition which opens here on Saturday.
Abdullah ibn Marae Bin Mahfouz, chairman of the Jeddah International Exhibitions Company, and 6vision, organizers of the two events, said the two-day conference was aimed at promoting transfer of technology and attracting investment to boost industrial development.
“We want to hold this conference every year in order to highlight the experiences of Arab countries in attracting investment and strengthening their industries,” Bin Mahfouz told a press conference. He estimated total Arab investments in 2001 at $2.45 trillion.
Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed is scheduled to open the conference and the exhibition on Saturday. As many as 15 Arab countries are expected to take part in the weeklong exhibition.
Commerce and Industry Minister Dr. Hashim Yamani and Amr Moussa will address the opening session. Syrian Industry Minister Essam Al-Zaeem, Sudanese Industry Minister Dr. Jalal Al-Deqair, and Algerian Industry Minister Hashmi Jaaboub will address the second session.
Muhammad Hani Al-Nassr, secretary-general of the Social Development Fund in Egypt, Talaat Al-Dhafir, director general of the Arab Industrial Development Organization, Salahuddin Hamdi, director general of Industrial Strategies in Tunisia, and Nabeel Ikram, head of the mineral investment service unit at the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, will also attend.
Muhammad Samman, executive director of 6vision, said the conference and the exhibition would help strengthen the Saudi economy in general and Jeddah’s position in the Arab economic world in particular.
“Saudi Arabia is one of the largest economies in the region with about 3,450 operating industries,” Samman said. He estimated Saudi industrial investments at SR250 billion and Saudi industrial revenues at SR50 billion. The Kingdom exports its industrial products to 120 countries.
Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab country to receive Arab investment as it grabbed $721 million, followed by Sudan with $554.9 million and Algeria with $350 million.
