JEDDAH, 22 January 2007 — Saudi Arabia will be represented at the five-day annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland by a number of high-profile government and business leaders, academics and media personalities.
According to a preliminary list of participants issued by the WEF, the Saudi delegation includes Minister of State Abdullah Zainal Alireza; Saudi Basic Industries Corp. CEO and Vice Chairman Mohamed Al-Mady; Effat College Board of Trustees Vice Chair Princess Lolwah Al-Faisal; Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu Chairman Prince Saud bin Thunayan; Supreme Economic Council Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Al-Tuwaijri; Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) Governor Amr Al-Dabbagh; Saudi Aramco President Abdallah Jum’ah; E.A. Juffali and Brothers Managing Partner Khaled Juffali; Olayan Financing Company CEO Lubna Olayan; Xenel/Saudi Cable Company Chairman Khaled Alireza; Dallah Al-Baraka CEO Abdullah Saleh Kamel; Xenel Industries Limited Director Yousuf Alireza; Saudi Aramco Senior Vice President Salim Al-Aydh, Arab News Editor in Chief Khaled Almaeena; and Muna Abu Sulayman, executive manager of Strategic Studies and Research Initiatives at Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding Company.
About the importance of being at Davos, Al-Mady of SABIC said: “The company of fellow government and industry leaders is both educational and inspirational. Ideas and experiences can be freely exchanged, and mutual interests explored and promoted.” A comment from a delegate, Al-Mady observed, can be as rewarding as a daylong meeting with experts. “If I can walk away with an enriched vision and just one useful idea or if I can contribute to someone else’s insight or growth, then my participation (at Davos) will have been worthwhile.”
Among the heads of state or government participating in the Davos meeting are Jordan’s King Abdallah, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, South African President Thabo Mbeki and Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
Personalities from the media and cultural world will include Al Jazeera International’s Riz Khan, BBC’s Nik Gowing, Newsweek’s Fareed Zakaria, Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai, musicians Bono and Peter Gabriel, author Paulo Coelho and chess champion Anatoly Karpov.
The annual gathering in Davos, which dates back to 1971, is this year co-chaired by Lord Browne of British Petroleum; Eric Schmidt of Google; Neville Isdell of Coca-Cola; Sunil Bharti Mittal of India’s Bharti Enterprises; Michelle Guthrie of Star TV; and James Schiro of Zurich Financial Services.
The summit will focus primarily on exploring the implications of the shifting power equation. New factors are influencing the global agenda, from rapidly rising emerging economies to radical shifts in communication power from institutions to individuals and small groups while consumers replace producers as catalysts for innovation. Whether and how these factors will disrupt or destabilize the global system over the coming decades is uncertain. The WEF will explore the possible implications and consider solutions for managing the shift.
The forum participants will also discuss how, despite huge financial resources committed to aid in the past, many countries are still struggling with poverty, hunger, disease and violations of human rights. The participants will look for answers to such questions as: How efficient is current development aid? How can they improve its quality? Should donor countries be able to decide how money is spent in receiving countries? What are the innovative sources for financing development?
On the issue of identity, Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, Editor in Chief of Mexico’s TV Azteca Sergio Sarmiento and Arab News’ Khaled Almaeena will discuss why identity has become so important. They will also look at how individuals can deal with the conflicting loyalties that the modern world often imposes.
Meanwhile, the Swiss Air Force has enforced a no-fly zone over southeastern Switzerland since Friday. Up to 5,000 troops have been assigned to the area in order to maintain security. About 400 soldiers were mobilized last week to help local authorities, while police were also put on standby in other parts of Switzerland and in neighboring countries such as Germany. The streets of Davos, once a magnet for anti-globalization protests, have been quiet at recent WEF meetings as police have sealed off the resort from potential troublemakers.
Television pictures of world leaders, against a backdrop of powdery drifts, are a staple of January news broadcasts every year, beamed around the world and boosting the resort’s — and Switzerland’s — profile. Swiss authorities are keen to keep adverse publicity to a minimum and want coverage focused on the discussions in Davos’ Congress Center rather than on events in the streets outside.
According to a Reuters report, protecting the businessmen and politicians at the annual WEF meeting costs some eight million Swiss francs ($6.4 million). Swiss authorities pay three quarters of this, keen on the advertising that comes from hosting the annual meeting at a resort famous for its top-notch, high-altitude skiing.
The relative isolation of Davos, the self-styled “highest town in Europe” at more than 1,500 meters (almost 5,000 ft) above sea level, makes it far simpler to isolate from demonstrators and security threats than major cities.
Amid unseasonal warmth Davos, like most of the Alps, is still suffering a snow shortage, even though its ski area peaks at some 2,800 meters, so those outdoor interviews — and protest marches — may lack some of their traditional wintry appearance.
