DUBAI, 17 September 2005 — Chairman of the board of Dubai Development and Investment Authority (DDIA) and Young Arab Leaders (YAL) Mohammed Abdullah Al-Gergawi announced the launch of YAL’s latest initiative “Arab Business Challenge” during his speech at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York on Thursday. YAL’s initiative aims to encourage and highlight the role of the youth in the development process in all parts of the Arab world.
The Young Arab Leaders organization, in cooperation with several regional and international companies and other strategic partners, will be reviewing and evaluating economic case studies and project plans proposed by young Arabs, from which a plan will be chosen and supported and developed into tangible projects by the end of 2006. This comes as part of YAL’s strategic endeavors to boost the economy in the Arab region.
Al Arabiya Satellite Channel will be one of the most important strategic partners of the initiative and will broadcast a televised program on the initiative in all parts of the Arab world.
Al-Gergawi, also heads the YAL organization’s delegation of more than 20 Arab leaders who have achieved distinguished success in different business sectors to the conference. He assured in his speech that Young Arab Leaders programs are aimed to promote a stronger and more balanced business sector, and to help young entrepreneurs improve their projects’ performance.
He added: “Since its launch, YAL has been working on consolidating the efforts of Arab youth and emphasizing their role in steering Arab countries toward a new and higher level of prosperity and development. The initiative’s chosen title, “Arab Business Challenge”, is therefore in line with the organization’s strategy to develop the Arab region at large by preparing a regional plan of action, in which a range of the region’s eminent businessmen and prominent companies will participate, to implement this plan by 2006.”
Al-Gergawi said: “The Arab region is facing great challenges that are a result of global impact in various fields such as economy and employment. There is no doubt that delaying taking necessary action to strengthen development will cost the region many of its valuable privileges and resources.”
Al-Gergawi said: “The Arab world has a high rate in context to the earth’s total unemployed young people.
Combine that with the highest population growth rates in the world; we grow at 4 percent. The World Bank estimates that our region will need an average economic annual growth rate of 6.5 percent to cope with the increase in population. We will need to create 100 million new jobs by 2020 just to cope with current population demands.”
