The Jeddah Economic Forum (JEF) 2010, to be held from Feb. 13-16 at the Jeddah Center for Forums and Events, will look beyond the current international economic crisis and at the elements crucial for the next phase of global growth through 2020, according to Mohammed A. Al-Fadl, chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). JCCI will hold the10th edition of the JEF in association with the Gulf Research Center (JRC). Addressing a press conference here Tuesday evening, where the theme of the Forum was announced as ‘The Global Economy 2020,' Al-Fadl said that while identifying where the engines of future growth will lie and anticipating upcoming challenges and potential shifts in power, policy makers and businesses will be better placed to take advantage of opportunities and mitigate risks. The press conference was preceded by an iftar party hosted by the Jeddah Marketing Board (JMB). Al-Fadl said that the JEF, an important event in the Middle East, will bring together decision-makers, veteran businessmen and businesswomen, academics, and analysts from around more than 20 countries in the world. “They will debate strategies needed to promote economic development and growth of banking, financial, commercial, agricultural, industrial, educational and health sectors as well as science, technology, energy and environment,” he added. The neoliberal economic ideology of liberalization, deregulation, deflating the role of the State – has now lost its appeal and many of its flaws have come to the fore, so much so that it remains to be seen how far back it will swing. “In this context, the JEF 2010 will debate various global economic shifts taking place in parallel that could be of relative importance in shaping the global economy in the next decade, including the Middle East as a whole,” Al-Fadl said. “A drive back to fundamentals is an important shift that cannot be ignored,” he said. Financial intermediation could lose relative importance with manufacturing regaining its place. State investments in infrastructure and in key social services – notably education – will attract increased resources. While such investments have continued in emerging markets, industrialized nations will no longer be able to take their competitiveness for granted. Concerns over the environment will gain importance and governments will pay more attention rather than just pay lip service to preserving the environment. Climate change will be a key agenda setter. Al-Fadl said that experts will try to answer such key questions as whether global trade liberalization efforts will survive the recession, will new multinational corporations be allowed to take over some of the ailing giants of the past, will regional economic integration be able to move ahead, could the next decade become ‘a lost decade' for many industrialized countries, will the role of banking and financial intermediation drastically change the role of Western dominance in global economy, where will consumption and growth come from in the next decade, and where do the Gulf countries stand and how can they seize the moment. Al-Fadl said that the JEF 2010 will draw on and critically address these and other issues in a healthy debate. Abdulaziz Bin Usman Sager, chairman of GRC, said the Forum will propose to monitor the post-crisis current global economy in order to get a clear picture about the main features of the new phase coming from global growth, which is expected to begin in the next 10 years. “By determining the locations of stimuli, and future economic growth, future challenges and potential shifts in the balance of power, will be strengthened,” Bin Sager said. The inaugural session will feature a documentary film on the history of the JEF, followed by welcome addresses by Bin Sager, Al-Fadl, and Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah Region.
