DAVOS, 25 January 2004 — Prominent Arab business leaders adopted yesterday a blueprint for sweeping reforms in 22 nations of the Arab world at a meeting at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The newly-created Arab Business Council (ABC), which was launched at the extraordinary WEF meeting in Jordan in June 2003, drafted a blueprint focusing on economic liberalization and reforms, governance, and human resource development, the WEF said.
The council has more than 100 business leaders from the Arab world, and was created to take action on such key issues as competitiveness, economic integration and to promote government-private sector partnerships in pursuing reforms.
M. Shafik Gabr, Chairman and CEO, Artoc Group for Investment & Development (Egypt), heads the ABC executive committee.
The committee also includes Mohamed Ali Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties (UAE), Nasser R. Chammaa, Chairman of Solidere (Lebanon), Amr A. Al Dabbagh, President and CEO, Dabbagh Group Holding (Saudi Arabia), Ibrahim S. Dabdoub, CEO of the National Bank of Kuwait, Fadi Ghandour, President and CEO, Aramex International (Jordan), Bassim Jai Hokimi, Chairman and CEO, Groupe ONA (Morocco), and Lubna S. Olayan, CEO, Olayan Financing Company (Saudi Arabia).
“The ABC was created to reinforce the voice of the Arab business community globally,” Gabr said.
