JEDDAH — As Saudi Arabia goes through a major economic boom, the 9th Jeddah Economic Forum 2008 (JEF) is set to begin at International Exhibition & Convention Center on Madinah Road today under the theme of “Value Creation Through Alliances and Partnerships.”
Makkah Gov. Khaled Al-Faisal will declare the forum open today where more than 24 economists, leading businessmen and women, entrepreneurs, and academics from all over the world will speak at JEF 2008, which runs until Tuesday.
“The Jeddah Economic Forum this year will be excluding political leaders from its list because the forum will contribute significantly to economic, commercial and industrial development,” JEF President Sami Bahrawi said.
He added that organizers have studied carefully all negative aspects that occurred during the previous forums and worked hard to avoid it in order to make this year’s event a success. The JEF is being moved, for the first time, to JCCI’s own exhibition & convention center, which is being renovated and remodeled to suit the JEF sessions.
“We have been working hard all year round just to avoid any problems that we faced previously and we were able to come out with a new strategy to get things on a roll and make this year’s event a success, “ Bahrawi said recently.
He pointed out that the Jeddah Economic Forum seeks to set the standards for national and regional economic events aimed at job creation, economic development, and prosperity, by addressing key economic challenges, opportunities and inviting leaders of the public and private sectors. The Jeddah Economic Forum aspires to design the blueprint for the economic future of Saudi Arabia and the region.
Some of the influential business leaders who will take part at this year’s forum will be Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, George Soros, founder and chairman of the Open Society Institute, Richard Branson, chairman of Virgin Group, Professor Mohammed Younis, Grameen Bank founder and 2006 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Sheikha Lubna Al-Qassimi, UAE minister for external trade, Maha Al-Ghunaim, chairperson and managing director of Global Investment House and Atif Abdulmalik, CEO, Arcapita.
Key sessions at the forum are to be moderated by Alastair Stewart and John Defterios.
