JEDDAH, 18 February 2007 — World leaders including Jordan’s Queen Rania as a special keynote speaker and former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto as a plenary speaker will participate in the Jeddah Economic Forum 2007 (JEF 2007) scheduled to take place at the Hilton Hotel from Feb. 24-27.
Plenary speakers also include Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Mohamed Najib Abdul Razak, former Polish President Lech Walesa, former Canadian Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Jean Chretien, Chinese Minister Liu Jiangfeng, NATO’s former Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Wesley Clark, Peder Wallenberg, founder of Carpe Vitam and Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, UK Chair of the Saudi-British Business Council.
Giving details at a press conference at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry yesterday, JEF 2007 Chairman Sami Bahrawi, said: “Speakers have been carefully chosen to address the themes of the forum with authority and experience. They are all influential global figures and the forum is honored to host them.”
Economic reform, the central theme of the forum, is being pursued by the Kingdom for more than a decade and it has assumed importance, especially after the Kingdom’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr. Ghazi Faisal Binzagr of Beit Binzagr and Effat College Dean Dr. Haifa Reda Jamal Al-Lail said speaking on behalf of the academic committee of the forum. “You cannot have economic reforms independent of the social fabric. So the complexities of social and economic dimensions have to be understood while discussing them,” Binzagr said. “Not every economic reform has a positive impact. We will show the pitfalls and successes of various reforms,” Haifa said.
Sue MacGregor of the BBC and Alastair Stewart of the Independent Television News, will facilitate interactive hour-long “Moving Forward” segments in each forum session. JEF Delegates will also have the opportunity of expressing their opinions on key issues by using personal electronic survey equipment, supplied by London-based IML Ltd.
“Economic reform: Flourishing Grounds and Expanding Horizons‚“ is the theme of the forum held with the support of Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed. The forum’s six half-day sessions will discuss strategies for economic reform with their focus on a balanced social agenda, social responsibility and citizenship initiative, continuance of the legal structure, changing the global energy paradigm and privatization as the indispensable tool.
The Jeddah Marketing Board that operates under the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry is organizing the forum, whose partner sponsor is Emaar: the Economic City for the second year in a row.
The forum’s lead sponsors this year include Saudi Research and Marketing Group (official print media), CNBC Al Arabiya (official broadcast media), National Commercial Bank and Xenel Group. Diamond Sponsors are Saudi Arabian Airlines (official carrier) and Budget Rent a Car (official transport solution provider). Gold Sponsors include Al Madinah Printing Press and Medunet. The gala dinner is sponsored by Al Jamal Group of Companies and the silver sponsor is Global Economy.
London Business School (LBS), a major world graduate management school, is the academic partner for the event for the third time. Effat College is the strategic planner of the forum, which is expected to draw more than 2000 delegates from around the world.
