Mapping Out The Arab Landscape: The Arab Global Forum Identifies Key Areas For Private Sector Initiatives

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 200 business, government and civil society leaders from more than 16 countries around world meeting here called for urgent efforts to integrate the Arab world into the global economy. "We need a dramatic breakthrough and for the Arab world to step up," Shafik Gabr , Chairman and Managing Director of ARTOC Group for Investment and Development, Egypt, and co-founder of the Arab Global Forum, told participants in the closing session of the inaugural Arab Global Forum.

The two-day gathering focused on finding ways to build on the momentum and goodwill generated by the speech that US President Barack Obama delivered in Cairo in June in which he sought "a new beginning" in relations between the United States and Muslims. The long-term aim of the Forum is "to contribute to accelerating the integration of the Arab world into the global economy," explained Claude Smadja , President, Smadja & Associates, Switzerland and co-founder of the Arab Global Forum.

Through discussions and debates during several highly interactive sessions, participants identified key areas on which the private sector can focus. Among them: education, the promotion of technology and communications especially the Internet, the expansion of microfinance, and the development of the rule of law particularly through judicial reform.

On education, participants put forward proposals to increase youth exchange programs and improve the quality of teaching in the Arab world. The goal is to provide adequate training for the growing ranks of young people in the region so that they are able to find employment.

"The demographic explosion is the single greatest threat to Arab prosperity and well-being," warned Judith Kipper , Director, Middle East Programs, Institute of World Affairs, United States, in the closing plenary. "The answer is education." Speaking in a morning session, Jeffrey D. Feltman, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, said: "If this rising generation can acquire the tools to achieve their potential, then they can be a powerful force not just for growth but also for good."