JEDDAH, 11 January 2008 — More than 700 experts on knowledge-based economy from 60 countries will participate in the first annual conference organized by the Arabian Knowledge Economy Association (AKEA), in association with Al-Aghar Group think tank and the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The two-day forum under the theme “Towards a Knowledge Economy” will start tomorrow.
Makkah Governor Prince Khaled Al-Faisal will deliver the keynote speech. Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa and Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Countries Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu will attend the conference.
The conference is aimed at “introducing, promoting and applying the appropriate policies and strategies for building a viable knowledge-based economy in the Arab World, besides creating an awareness on the knowledge-based economy in the private and public sectors.”
It would also enable the strategists to learn from the experience of other countries in preparing for the knowledge economy era. The entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts would get an opportunity to discover new practical approaches for improving and shaping innovation and entrepreneurship.
Around 350 inventions of young Saudi scientists will be presented at the conference. One of the workshops following the conference will be set aside for students in the age group of 14 between 25, Abdullah Al-Subyani, president of AKEA, said in a press meeting held at the JCCI headquarters in Jeddah yesterday.
“The organizers of the conference intend to open a channel for the participation of the youth with innovative talent in creating a vibrant and sustainable economy based on knowledge and intellectual achievements rather than on the export of raw materials,” Al-Subyani said.
“The Arab world needs to exploit the enormous potentials of knowledge for the diversification of its economic base particularly in the light of the increasingly innovative competition from technologically advanced countries,” he said.
The conference is the sign of the increasing awareness of the role the knowledge economy could play in the Saudi and Arab economies, he added.
The founding of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Rabigh is a major step taken by the Kingdom toward a knowledge-based economy.
