12 January 2003 13:02
Jeddah Economic Forum welcomes two Prime Ministers and a First Lady
Jeddah, KSA
Malaysia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Syed Hamid Syed Jaffar Albar, and UK Minister of
International Trade and Investment, Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, will also make keynote speeches. The announcement
was made today at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
For the first time, the forum
includes sessions dedicated to issues of special interest to business women. Amr Dabbagh, Chairman of the Jeddah
Economic Forum commented, the inaugural, ladies-only Women in Business Sessions under the Patronage of HH Princess Sarah
Al Angari, wife of the Governor of Makkah Region will be launched on the first day of the Forum, January 18. We are also
delighted that Mrs. Zinele Mbeki, First Lady of the Republic of South Africa, has agreed to present the Opening Address.
Now in its fourth year, the Jeddah Economic Forum is widely recognised as the premier business
gathering in the Middle East. The 2003 event is again being held under the most generous patronage of HRH Prince Abdul
Majeed Bin Abdul Aziz, Governor of the Makkah Region.
The theme for the 2003 forum is, Global
Competitiveness: Thinking Globally, Acting Locally. The program will reflect the challenges facing businesses in the
Middle East and the impact of global events on the region. Among topics for open panel discussions are the role of free
trade zones and the future of family companies.
It is anticipated that the forum will be attended by
hundreds of the region's leading businessmen and women, government officials and academics, together with many
global business leaders and international visitors. We are expecting to receive business delegations from Bangladesh,
Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Russia, the UK and a group of high-technology entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley in the USA,
added Amr Dabbagh.
Organised by the Jeddah Marketing (JMB), the forum will have as speakers and
panelists: Christine McCafferty MP, (Member of UK Parliament), and Parliamentary Patron, Women in Business
International; Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Chief Executive Officer, Tejari.com, U.A.E.; Dr. Carol O'Connor, Director,
Vision in Practice, UK; Ms. Mervat M. Tallawy, Executive Secretary of UN Economic Social Commission for Western Asia;
Director, Worldspace, U.A.E.; HH Princess Arwa Bint Fahad, Managing Director, RAMCO, Saudi Arabia. HE Mr. Amir K.M.
Chowdhury, Minister of Commerce of Bangladesh; HE Dr. Ibrahim Al Assaf, Saudi Minister of Finance and National Economy;
HE Dr. Bassem Awadallah, Jordanian Minister of Planning; HE Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Governor, Bahrain
Monetary Agency; HE Dr. Hashim Abdullah Yamani, Saudi Minister of Industry and Electricity; HE Dr. Mohammed Al Jasser,
Vice Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency; HE Dr. Fawaz Al Alamy, Saudi Deputy Minister of Commerce for
Technical Affairs; HE Dr. Fawaz Al Zu'bi, Jordanian Minister of Communications and IT; HE Sultan Bin Sulayem,
Executive Chairman, Ports, Customs and Free Zone, Dubai; HE Mr. Akel Baltaji, Chief Commissioner, Aqaba Special Economic
Zone Authority, Jordan; HE Eng. Mohammed Al-Mady, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Saudi Arabian Basic Industries;
Adnan Kassar, President, International Chamber of Commerce and Chairman, The Federation of the Chambers of Commerce,
Industry & Agriculture, Lebanon; Fadi Ghandour, President & CEO, ARAMEX International, Jordan; Ali S.
Al-Shihabi, Board Director & Chairman of the Management Committee, Saudi Hollandi Bank; Moataz Al-Alfi, Chief
Executive Officer, Americana Group; Mohammed Abudawood, Vice Chairman, Abudawood Trading Co, Saudi Arabia; Ghassan
Nuqul, Vice Chairman, Nuqul Group of Companies, Jordan; Khalid Kanoo, Group Managing Director, Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo,
Bahrain; Alan Crosbie, Chairman, Examiner Publications Ltd., Ireland; and Richard McCormick, Former President,
International Chamber of Commerce.
Harvard Business School Professors Richard Vietor, John Quelch
and Tarun Khanna will be presenting strategic papers and moderating the panel sessions.
This
year's forum is sponsored by a range of regional business giants led by four main sponsors: the Abdul Laltif Jameel
Group; the Kingdom Holding Company, the Saudi Aramco and National Commercial Bank. The forum is also sponsored by Saudi
Hollandi Bank; Saudi British Bank; the United Sugar Company; Basamh Trading Co.; the Middle East Broadcasting Company
and Arab Radio and Television as joint official broadcasters; the Saudi Research and Publishing Company as official
publishers.
Amr Dabbagh also announced that the Jeddah Economic Forum 2003 will witness the official
launch of Prince Abdulmajid Bin Abdulaziz Award of Excellence that would annually recognize companies and personalities
from the private sector.
The highly successful 2002 forum, held last January, saw the former US
President Bill Clinton, HH Sheikh Salman bin Hamad, Crown Prince of Bahrain and HR Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal as keynote
speakers, Previous forums have hosted German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, former French President Valery Giscard
D'Estaing, former British Prime Minister John Major and former President of the United States George
Bush.
The 2003 Jeddah Economic Forum has a talented and diverse range of speakers representing a
broad spectrum of the region's political and commercial perspectives, continued Amr Dabbagh.. Delegates can expect
incisive presentations followed by lively panel discussions and debates. With the inclusion of the in augural Women in
Business sessions, the forum continues to set the pace for regional events capturing the attention of international and
local businessmen and women and continues to grow in importance to the business community and as a prestigious
networking gathering.
Further details on the Jeddah Economic Forum can be obtained by
visiting the Jeddah Marketing Board website at www.jeddahmarketing.com
Issued on behalf of Jeddah
Marketing Board by Gulf Hill & Knowlton, Jeddah. For more information please contact Damian James on tel: 02 653
2323 Ext. 201, Fax: 02 652 3131.
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