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FORUM EMPHASIZES EAST- WEST DIALOGUE
BY REHAB EL BAKRY
For three days last month, the world’s eyes were on Sharm Al Sheikh as the Red Sea resort played host to the regional meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF). The prestigious event, held at an ultra-modern conference center built specially for that purpose gave world leaders, politicians and leading business figures an opportunity to discuss and plan for issues that will affect the region in the upcoming five years, focusing on five themes: business development, investing in the future, global integration, youth and understanding, and democracy, peace and security. With 1,100 delegates from 46 countries, the attendee list read like a who’s who of the world’s most influential government and business personalities.
Held under the theme of “The promise of a new generation,” the forum’s discussions addressed ways of encouraging domestic and international investment in the region, facilitating the integration of Middle East business into the global economy, and integrating youth in social, economic and political dialogues affecting the region. As expected, the dialogue also touched on the political issues affecting the region, including the need for greater freedom and democracy, the better integration of women, and the conflicts in Iraq and the Palestinian territories.
Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of the WEF, noted that the forum has included the Middle East on its agenda for over three decades, and has held a number of regional gatherings in Middle East countries to highlight the various challenges facing the region. The last regional WEF forum was held at the Dead Sea in Jordan in 2005. “The Middle East has had some dramatic changes since our meeting last year,” Schwab announced. “But here at Sharm Al Sheikh, we want to concentrate on the positive developments. I think there are strong winds of hope blowing through the region.”
Dialogue, he emphasized, is the key to a stronger understanding between East and West, and can stimulate the growth of investments in the region to help create jobs for the estimated 6 million youth entering the region’s work force every year. “Dialogue [and] cooperation are always better than confrontation,” he said. “If you want to achieve a peaceful world, the first step is that people speak to one another and leaders speak to one another. What we need today are cooperative efforts of government, business and civil society to [come up with] solutions.” Schwab says this conviction is clearly reflected in the conference’s agenda.
Responding to a comment that the agenda was “politics heavy,” he explained to Business Monthly that in today’s world, the lines between the public and the private sectors, as well as government, business and civil society, are blurred. The forum’s agenda is simply a reflection of the reality of the world today.
“What we are seeing today in our world is that the traditional boundaries between the regions and nations are no longer the same,” he said. “The challenges in the Middle East are at the same time global challenges and the global challenges are regional challenges. So everything today is interwoven. So you cannot look at economic issues in isolation. You [have to] look at political issues and you cannot deal with political issues without dealing with economics. You have business on one side, governments on the other and civil society on the third. What we need is a platform where these three can meet and this is what we have here,” he said.
During his inaugural address, President Hosni Mubarak pointed out the only way for the Middle East to move forward is to make tough decisions including the embrace of peace, better integration into the world economy and acceptance that the world is changing. “Peace and development are inevitable,” he pointed out. “The Middle East is at a crossroads and it’s up to us to make choices. Egypt’s choice is peace as it is the only true path to development. We want international partnership based on investment and not on aid and assistance. We believe that building democratic societies is the only way to the better future than we seek.”
On the economic front, several sessions focused on the notion that the region was open for business. They highlighted the unprecedented cooperation between the region’s governments and the private sector, but also raised the point that governments in the region have to reduce their interference in the business environment. Rather than being active in the business sector, delegates argued, governments should simply work on creating the right environment to facilitate growth, reduce red tape and attract foreign investments.
Stelios Haji-loannou, chairman of the UK’s easyGroup and one of the co-chairs of the forum, highlighted the role that travel and tourism play in expanding cross-cultural understanding. Using his own experience as an example, he pointed out that he didn’t see the potential in the region until he actually visited Egypt. “More frequent travel encourages more cultural understanding and that is the biggest guarantor of peace,” he said. “This region could benefit a lot by encouraging movement not only within the region but also throughout the world.”
He emphasized the need to prioritize the development of the tourism and travel industry – one of the biggest job creators worldwide. “Depending on the country, [tourism] can generate up to 10 percent of the GDP,” he said. “It is a big job creator, with the ability to create jobs at all income and training levels, and that’s why all countries in the world should invest in the development of their travel and tourism.”
Keeping with the theme of the forum, several sessions focused on ways to better integrate the youth of the region into the development of the region’s social, political and economic agenda. Among the issues discussed was leadership and the influence it has on youth, with particular reference to the need for building meritocracies in the region that give youth hope that their hard work will pay off. Many argued that the issue of merit counting more than contacts will go further towards integrating youth into the economic, social and political fabric of life in the region. It was also argued that there is a greater need for dialogue and involvement of youth in order to reduce the apathy that typically characterized the younger generation in the region.
The gap between men and women in the Middle East – in terms of political, economic and social participation – was of particular concern. Delegates discussed ways of reducing this gap, highlighting the need for women to become stronger contributors to the development of the region. “The potential in the region will never be achieved unless there is full participation of women,” argued Nemir Kirdar, founder, president and CEO of Investcorp and forum co-chair. “We cannot build a society that is competitive in the world without giving men and women the same opportunity.”
This is particularly true when two thirds of the region’s population is under the age of 24, noted Princess Lolwah Al Faisal, vice chair of the Board of Trustees and general supervisor of Effat College in Saudi Arabia. She asserted that Middle East countries could narrow the gender gap without compromising their traditions and cultural norms. “The key is to further the education of women in the region in order to further empower them, give them a bigger [stake] in political and social participation and better integrate them socially, economically and politically.”
On the political front, the highlight of the conference was a meeting between Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas and Tzipi Livni, deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs of Israel – the highest level meeting between Palestinians and Israelis in almost 11 months. Both sides reiterated their commitment to a two-state solution pointing out that this was the only way to ensure the safety of their citizens.
For his part, Abbas pointed out that the challenges facing the PA are complex because of the growing rift between it and the newly-elected Hamas government. Moreover, he pointed out, the situation is further complicated by the halt in dialogue with the Israeli government, the refusal of Israel to hand over Palestinian customs revenues and the cessation of aid from western countries in protest of the Hamas government’s electoral victory.
For her part, Livni pointed out that the Israeli government remains committed to a two-state solution. However, she pointed out that the longer the negotiations are stalled, the harder it becomes for those on both sides committed to a two-state solution to make the vision a reality. She expressed hope that this meeting in Sharm Al Sheikh would be a good starting point for dialogue to resume.
The conference concluded with several recommendations aimed at helping the Middle East to embrace change, and facilitating its integration into the global community. Among these were: plans to further expand the forum’s Young Global Leaders initiative to link youth from the region with government leaders as well as to further the communication of youth with one another; launch of the region’s branding campaign; announcement of Egypt’s intention to expand its Open Skies policies; launch of a new education initiative in Egypt; and the launch of a five-year action plan for public-private sector partnership to help narrow the gender gap in the region.
The recommendations included steps to be implemented over the coming year; however, it remains to be seen how these will translate into real change on the ground. The answer to that question may be found at next year’s regional WEF meeting, expected to convene in Doha.
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR AWARD
The Schwab Foundation, a sister organization of the World Economic Forum, awarded Laila Iskandar, head of Community & Institutional Development (CID), with the Egyptian Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award. The award is one of 30 given every year worldwide to “social entrepreneurs” who use innovative approaches to bridge the gap between the private sector and the less fortunate in society.
Iskandar has devoted much of her professional career to working with different groups in Egyptian society to help them achieve sustainable development. She has been involved with several non-government organizations and initiatives, particularly in Upper Egypt, to alleviate poverty and improve the quality of life.
Upon receiving the award, she pointed out the importance of sustainable development. “Our work is all about achieving development in cooperation with the different members of society in order to make this goal a reality,” she said. “Our mission is to grow the [entrepreneurial] skills of those with limited means in cooperation with the private sector not in the form of aid but in the form of partnership and cooperation to help create a true partnership.”
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