DUBAI --- Under the directives and patronage of His Highness
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the
UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the organizing committee of the Arab Strategy Forum has
announced that the eighth session of the forum will commence on 15th December
in Dubai. Convening eminent thought leaders and experts, economists,
politicians and analysts, the event will aim to forecast future trends in the
Arab region, while examining economic and political challenges that have
dominated the world in 2016.
Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Gargawi,
Minister for Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the Executive Office of His
Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and chairman of the higher
organizing committee of the Arab Strategy Forum, said, "The eighth edition
of the Arab Strategy forum articulates the vision of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin
Rashid Al Maktoum with regard to the global need to plan for the future and
develop multiple and alternative scenarios for all short- and medium-term goals
on the political and economic levels. The rapid changes the world is witnessing
require thoughtful insights to study their impact if we are to collectively
resolve the various emerging regional and international challenges."
He added, "We in the United Arab
Emirates are working continuously to monitor all variables and update our plans
and projects in accordance with the latest developments. The global confidence
the UAE has earned enables it to serve as a platform to forecast the future and
develop solutions for predictable or even unforeseen challenges. The UAE
leadership has proven the soundness of its vision regarding the causes of
political conflicts and economic crises as well as the mechanisms to solve
them. The Arab Strategy Forum therefore represents a platform through which the
UAE reinforces its commitment to partnering with the world in the formulation
of tangible and workable solutions for various challenges in order to ensure a
safer and more equitable world. "
Al Gargawi noted that the seventh
session of the Forum, which was held in Dubai last year succeeded in drawing a
picture of the year 2015 and contributed to highlighting diverse global and
regional events, scenarios and current challenges. Furthermore, the seventh
edition successfully predicted the repercussions of events arising at the
regional and international levels, which helped decision-makers to put in place
the necessary mechanisms to deal with various scenarios that would have a
positive impact on the security and stability of the region and the world at
large."
Likewise, the upcoming edition of the
forum this year will see the participation of a number of decision makers, as
well as political and economic scientists who will forecast the state of the
world in 2016. HRH Turki Al Faisal, Chairman of the King Faisal Center for
Research and Islamic Studies, former Director General of the General
Intelligence Directorate (GID) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Ghassan
Salameh, political thinker and author will headline a session on the political
state of the Arab world in 2016. The session to be moderated by Mohannad Al
Khateeb from the Sky News Arabia network will discuss major expected political
changes and their impact on the region.
Salam Fayyad, former Palestinian Prime
Minister and Mahmoud Mohieldin, Corporate Secretary and President’s Special
Envoy, World Bank, will participate in a session on the economic state of the
Arab world in 2016. Highlighting economic trends, growth prospects and challenges,
the session will be moderated by Nassir Al Teibi from the Al Arabiya news
channel.
William Hague, former UK Foreign
Secretary, will lead a session on the political state of the world for 2016. He
will offer his insights and predictions on the global scenario in a session
moderated by Becky Anderson from CCN.
Larry Summers, former US Secretary of
Treasury and former president of Harvard University, and Professor Nouriel
Roubini from New York University will headline a session on the economic state
of the world in 2016. The two speakers will highlight economic trends and their
global effects during the session moderated by Tom Kenny from Bloomberg.
As a key highlight, this year’s edition
of the Arab Strategy Forum will showcase a number of reports by international
organizations. The World Bank will offer insights on the economic projections
for the world in 2016, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will
spotlight its regional economic forecasts for the upcoming year. Foreign
Affairs magazine will discuss its report on the political and economic state of
the world for 2016. Furthermore, the World Economic Forum (WEF) will highlight
its Global Risks Report 2016.
The seventh cycle of the Arab Strategy
Forum, held in December 2014, attracted a number of thought leaders in the
political and economic spheres and discussed 12 pivotal topics on the regional
and global levels. The participants offered a number of predictions on the
state of the region and the world economically and politically, of which many
proved accurate in 2015.
Francis Fukuyama, the influential
American author in politics and political economy, predicted the continuation
of the Libyan crisis with no solution expected to be reached in 2015. He also
predicted India’s success in overcoming a number of obstacles in its economic
development process. Bruce de Mesquita, professor and Director of Alexandra
Hamilton Political Economy Center at New York University, and senior fellow at
Stanford University's Hoover Institution, predicted major global changes due to
the political and strategic changes in a number of countries worldwide. He
correctly projected that the economic slowdown in Europe and China would
further decrease oil prices, and politically he anticipated that the P5+1 group
would reach a nuclear agreement with Iran.
For his part, Ghassan Salameh,
professor of international relations and former Lebanese Minister of Culture,
predicted a rise of regional countries of influence such as the UAE and Saudi
Arabia and also anticipated the increase in the number of areas controlled by
terrorist organizations.
Ahmad Abu Elgheit, former Egyptian
Foreign Minister, predicted that Egypt’s priorities in 2015 would be focused on
security, stability, launching development projects, and attracting foreign
investments. Politically, he predicted an increase in Iranian intervention,
which would lead to the formation of an Arab coalition to face this scenario.
Abdullah Al-Badri, Secretary General of
OPEC, stressed the importance of continuing exploration and investment efforts
in oil despite the dip in oil prices. He also pointed out the importance of
lifting subsidies on fuel and decreasing consumption while considering imposing
taxes and enabling more controlled government spending to combat the negative effects
of declining oil prices. He also noted that the world would still be dependent
on oil for 60% of its energy needs in the coming 30 years.
Henry Azzam, economic expert and former
CEO of Deutsche Bank for the MENA region, predicted a limited impact of
declining oil prices on the gulf countries with slower growth rates in 2015. He
said that the dip in oil prices would be greater on other oil exporting
counties, and added that non-oil sectors would lead the growth in the immediate
future.
The Arab Strategy Forum was launched in
2001. It focuses on political and economic issues affecting the world in
general and the Arab world in particular. The Forum has succeeded over the
years in becoming an influential platform that convenes prominent political and
thought leaders such as former US President Bill Clinton, late Lebanese Prime
Minister Rafik Al-Hariri, Samuel Huntington, American professor of political
science, Eric Schmidt, Chairman of Google, and Kofi Annan, former Secretary
General of the United Nations, among others. The forum has become an
international networking event with a number of workshops and sessions that
help participants formulate future plans on regional and global levels with the
aim of achieving a more stable and prosperous world.
No comments:
Post a Comment