JEDDAH, 20 January 2004 — Yesterday’s appearance by former US President Bill Clinton at the Jeddah Economic Forum was not his first. He last spoke to the forum two years ago. Although at the time he received a standing ovation, his tough talk in the wake of Sept. 11 about the need for change in the Kingdom did not win total approval from his audience. As a result, there was negative reaction in the local press to the announcement of his participation this time. But Clinton won over what was described as an ambivalent crowd.
“I think he offered some very good advice. I think as people we can communicate well with people from the US. For years we have dealt with things like trade and education and I hope we can capitalize on these two and bridge some of the gap between us and them,” said Sami Al-Nowaser, a banker. “I’m glad he participated because recent events have distorted things, and events like these can correct those distortions.”
Clinton also won applause from the women attending the forum. His comment that if cars had been around 1,400 years ago, the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, would have let his wife drive resulted in a huge round of applause.
“He did not answer many questions and sometimes, he didn’t give a direct answer,” said Sabah Dabbagh from Saudi Radio. “Because he is a former president and someone who tried to bring peace to the Middle East, I think many of the questions were appropriate, especially since there was an accusation by the US that some Muslim countries were behind Sept. 11,” she said. “I liked it that he mentioned some of the humanitarian problems in the poor countries, leaving it open for us to think of how we can help,” she added.
“It was a comprehensive speech, relevant to Saudi Arabia and the points made were very important,” said Dr. Amirah Kashgary, a university professor. “He focused on the need to change, but said that we have to define change according to our culture and based on our pace. I think, however, that the rate of change sometimes lags and this prevents us from competing and reaching our goals,” she said.
“The last time he was here, he was more critical of our curriculum but this time he spoke in general about the need to reform our education. I agree that we need reform for training and skills development. He talked briefly about women’s right and their role in society. This is a sensitive issue here and I don’t think he made an appropriate Islamic reference when he spoke about driving,” she concluded.
