Fredrick Sicre, managing director of the World Economic Forum (WEF) was in Cairo last week to promote an upcoming meeting in Jordan. Pierre Loza listened in Facing the real challenges: Partnering for a Renaissance is the theme of the WEF forum scheduled to be held on the Jordanian banks of the Dead Sea from 15-17 May. The forum, according to WEF Managing Director Fredrick Sicre, will be a window of opportunity to boost the Arab world's future stability and growth. Sicre, who addressed a seminar organised by Egypt's International Economic Forum (EIEF) last week, acknowledged the increased internal pressure on Arab governments, as a result of regional conflicts such as the war in Iraq and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He believes that the failure of the international community to address the Palestinian issue has allowed for a resurgent Islamic radicalism in the Arab and Muslim worlds. At the same time, Sicre noted, in some instances Arab governments have "used the continuation of the Palestinian conflict as an excuse for not adopting reforms to address the state of human development in their countries, and this has become even more true after the tragedies of 11 September". He advised that if the newfound international attention towards the Arab world is leveraged wisely, many improvements can be made towards overcoming its developmental deficits. Among the shortcomings of the Arab world, Sicre mentioned poor primary education enrolment rates, "which are lower than practically anywhere else in the world". Moreover, only 1.6 per cent of Arabs have Internet access, compared to 68 per cent of the population in the UK. These statistics and countless others show a sharp lag in the Arab world's developmental path. The WEF forum, according to Sicre wants "government, business and civil society to try to work together towards home-grown solutions and visions, for the future development of this part of the world", he said. Sicre said that the forum will focus on social, political, economic, and educational reforms in the Arab world. Also, business sector-specific negotiations will seek to raise the competitiveness of industries. Last year's WEF in Jordan witnessed the announcement of the US/ Arab free trade initiative by the US Bush administration, as well as the creation of the WEF's Arab Business Council. Shafiq Gabr, chairman of EIEF and also chairman of the executive committee for ABC spoke of its success. "Only 10 months later and it now has representatives in 15 Arab countries as well as 100 company members. And it operates as a representative of the Arab world's private sector." Gabr said. The ABC's mission is to reinforce the competitiveness of the Arab world by opening channels of discussion between business people and decision makers. The ABC was received with a mix of responses ranging from steadfast support to total apathy from Arab governments. Its participation in the coming forum in Jordan, as an agenda-setting partner, will allow it a unique position in the forefront of negotiations. After "several meetings in several Arab countries, the ABC has produced its first blueprint in terms of priorities of reform, in the economic field, in governance and in human resource development," Gabr said.
