This year’s three-day Jeddah Economic Forum is to open at the Jeddah Hilton on Saturday. The Forum will focus on sustainable growth and economic development in the Kingdom and will examine prospects for the regional and global economy over the forthcoming 12 months.
The Forum has been a high profile event ever since its inception, but is even more so now, according to Ghazi Binzagr, International Relations Committee Member of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) and President of Arabian Stores, Binzagr Group, when summing up the spirit of the forthcoming fifth annual event.
The first day of the Jeddah Economic Forum will focus on key economic issues facing Saudi Arabia, and measures required to accelerate development, according to a report published today by the Saudi Gazette.
The second day has a regional agenda, and will include keynote presentations, panel discussions and debate on the experiences of economies that have pursued aggressive strategies for economic development such as Kazakhstan, Turkey, Lebanon and Malaysia.
On the third day, speakers will examine the theme of accelerated growth from the perspective of globalisation and international economic integration.
Key speakers at the 2004 Forum include the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan; former Malaysian Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohammed, credited with transforming Malaysia into a Southeast Asian economic power; President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, and WTO Director General Supahai Panitchpakdi.
The increasing prominence of speakers and international diversity of attendees at the Forum reflects the international standing of the event. According to the Jeddah Marketing Board of the Jeddah Economic Forum, there will be a 400 per cent increase in attendance of overseas delegates from last year. Attendance at this year’s Forum will double that of last year, in spite of the fact that there is a $1,000 and $500 fee for men and women respectively at the 2004 event.
The above are objectives we aspired to achieve, said Binzagr, referring to the enthusiasm of international dignitaries to participate in the event, the calibre of the event’s sponsors, and increasing attention from the international media.
Source: SPA
