DUBAI, 12 December 2004 — The three-day Arab Strategy Forum opening in Dubai tomorrow promises to bring out answers to some of the most difficult questions facing the Arabs, including key factors that influence governments, trends in governance, security, political and economic reforms and moves toward democracy.
Being held under the theme “The Arab World in 2020 — Future Challenges and Opportunities,” the meeting will have Arab and international experts discussing the political, economic, security, and social scenarios as well as the media in the Arab world and plan ways to help the region prepare for future challenges with particular focus on moves toward genuine democracy and the impact of the shift toward transparency in administration.
Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Minister of Defense Gen. Sheikh Mohammed ibn Rashid Al-Maktoum will deliver the opening address, and the keynote address for the forum will be given by former US President Bill Clinton.
Underlining the theme of the meeting, Sheikh Mohammed says: “Our region is at a crossroads and our fates are inexorably tied. We can either succeed together or fail together. We can choose to erect barriers that stifle growth or forge new alliances that create opportunities.
“The Arab Strategy Forum is about the latter. It is about dialogue, debate and networks that create new opportunities for peace, progress and prosperity for our common region and our common future. It has been set up for the region, by the region.” The organizers of the conference expect to have a great number of delegates including heads of states, public and corporate sector decision-makers, specialists, experts and academics and top officials of global institutions and non-government organizations who will not only listen to the expert opinion and views of top decision-makers on strategic regional issues and challenges but also contribute their views to the debate.
Of particular interest will be a debate on the impact of domestic developments in a country on its neighbors and the wider region.
According to Nabil Al-Yousef, vice-chairman of the organizing committee and chief executive officer of the Dubai Holding, “We shall embark on the search for a blueprint for the Arab world in the year 2020 at the Arab Strategy Forum 2004. We have gathered the best experts from all spectrums of thought and governance - public or corporate.”
On the first day, the forum will discuss the future of the new world order, the results of globalization in the Arab world especially in the political and security related issues, the future of Islamic movements and its relations to the governing systems, and the steps that Arab countries should take in order to eliminate the disadvantages of these movements. Prominent participants at the session will include Saudi Ambassador to the UK Prince Turki Al-Faisal; Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad ibn Jassem ibn Jaber Al-Thani, Syrian Minister of Expatriate Affairs Buthaina Shaaban, former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Gideon Rose, managing editor of Foreign Affairs.
On the second day, the first session will deal with the question “Arab Integration in 2020 — Can Economics Succeed Where Politics Failed?” Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri will present the keynote address for the day.
The second session of the day will be on “Globalization of Economies and Business in 2020 — The Future of Economic and Financial Reform in the Arab World.”
It will be addressed by UAE Minister of Economy and Planning Sheikha Lubna Al-Qassimi, George T. Abed, former director (Middle East) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Najib Suwairis of Orascom Telcom of Egypt, Rudiger Grube of DaimlerChrysler of Germany, and V. Maureen K Darkes of the General Motors Corporation.
The third and final day of the conference will be addressed by Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, whose keynote address will deal with “Knowledge-based Society and Arab Culture in 2020.” The issue of “Human Development: The Engine of Economic Growth” will be dealt with by Jordanian Education Minister Khaled Al-Touqan and UNDP Assistant Secretary General Rima Khalaf Hunaidi, a former minister of planning of Jordan.
The next session of the day will be on “Arab Labor Markets in 2020 - Population Growth and the War for Talent.” It will be addressed by Qatari Education Minister Sheikh Ahmed Al-Mahmoud, Dr. Ali El Din Hilal, political science professor from Cairo University, Dr. Ibrahim Quaider of the Arab Labor Organization, Michael Stevenson of PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and Jean Pierre Laviec of the International Institute for Labor Studies.
The concluding session of the conference will sum up the discussions and the key issue of the “Rise and Fall of Countries and Corporations.”
It will be addressed by Al Arabiya news channel director Abdul Raham Al-Rashid, Fareed Zakararia, editor of Newsweek International, and Thomas Friedman of the New York Times.
They will be joined by Dr. Fuad Ajami, director of Middle East Studies Program at the John Hopkins University and the moderator will be Dr. Ghassan Salameh, a former minister of information of Lebanon who is currently with Instite D’Etudes Politiques des Paris.
