Arab World Competitiveness Roundtable 2007

Arab World Competitiveness Roundtable Doha, 9-10 April 2007

The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas. Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. (www.weforum.org)

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The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the World Economic Forum.

Contents

Page 3 Preface Page 4 Executive Summary Page 6 Enhancing Competitiveness to Sustain the Growth Momentum in the Arab World Page 12 Acknowledgements World Economic Forum 91-93 route de la Capite CH-1223 Cologny/Geneva Switzerland Tel.: +41 (0)22 869 1212 Fax: +41 (0)22 786 2744 E-mail: [email protected] www.weforum.org © 2007 World Economic Forum All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system.

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Preface

Sherif El Diwany Director, Head of Middle East World Economic Forum

In a time when many of the Arab economies are growing at levels not seen since three decades ago, the Arab World Competitiveness Roundtable, held in Doha the 9-10 April, was a successful platform for a frank assessment of the strategies ahead to enhance competitiveness in the region and sustain the growth momentum. Vibrant discussion among business leaders, policy-makers and experts provided an opportunity for advancing the reform agenda, particularly in emerging sectors of the Arab economies such as travel and tourism, healthcare and insurance services – and to gauge risks and opportunities ahead for Arab companies. We would like to thank the Co-Chairs of the Arab World Competitiveness Roundtable for their leadership. They were: Mazen S. Darwazeh, Chairman, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Jordan Zoheir Garranah, Minister of Tourism of Egypt Tarek Sultan Al-Essa, Chairman and Managing Director, Agility, Kuwait We trust this brief overview captures the optimism, determination and specific proposals that emerged from the deliberations held during the Roundtable.

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Executive Summary

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As we become more modern, we are exposed to new lifestyles. Our diseases are changing. We are seeing chronic diseases on which there should be more

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spending by the government. The private sector has to put in extra effort and have a bigger involvement.

Mazen S. Darwazeh, Co-Chair of the Arab World Competitiveness Roundtable; Chairman, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Jordan

Unprecedented growth in the Arab world in recent years, driven by the oil price windfall, has to be sustained to enhance the long-term competitiveness of the region. But Arab countries face major challenges to sustain the momentum. In particular, countries must create the jobs needed for a growing number of graduates. To do this, they must focus on how to enhance their competitiveness.

During the sessions, three key priorities emerged: Reform – It is essential that Arab countries continue to pursue reforms, particularly in education and governance. In education, economies must aim to develop the human resources that businesses demand. In the public and private sectors, institutions must become more transparent. Role of the Private Sector – Many participants argued that the private sector must be allowed to take the lead in developing new drivers of growth and productivity. State control often stifles private sector growth, while uneven playing fields typically benefit government-linked firms over private enterprise. The state’s participation in the economy should be limited or even reduced. Government should focus on creating the right environment to allow the private sector to grow.

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The results of The Arab World Competitiveness Report 2007 indicate that, while countries in the region have made great strides, challenges remain. To boost competitiveness and increase productivity, economies should look to remove obstacles to growth while at the same time fostering the development of sectors with high potential including insurance, healthcare and tourism. The results of the report were the basis for further discussions during the meeting. • In the insurance sector, policy reforms are needed to create the right regulatory framework to promote further growth in the industry. The market is opening up and competition is increasing. The key to success is improving service quality and developing common standards across the region. A level playing field is also necessary to allow private companies to compete.

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The government and private sector are like two parallel lines that never meet –

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Regionalization – For the Arab world to enhance its competitiveness and sustain long-term growth, it will have to deepen regional integration to lower business costs and address problems that require cooperative, cross-border solutions. The region must become a region.

information must be shared so we understand each other’s calculations and priorities.

Zoheir Garranah, Co-Chair of the Arab World Competitiveness Roundtable; Minister of Tourism of Egypt

• In healthcare, the private sector should step up to boost investment, particularly in research and development. Increased private sector participation is essential if Arab countries are to meet emerging healthcare challenges. • Tourism will not take off until countries in the region deepen their integration. • The key to the Arab world’s future competitiveness lies in how the dynamic between the public and private sectors develops. The role of the state must evolve from dominant actor in the economy to regulator-facilitator. Government control of the marketplace should be limited or diminished to ensure even playing fields. There must be closer communication between the private and public sectors and greater transparency, particularly in government procurement and budgeting. Policymaking and legislation should be predictable, not arbitrary.

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The World Economic Forum’s Arab World Competitiveness Roundtable offered more than 150 participants gathered in Doha the opportunity to assess The Arab World Competitiveness Report 2007 and how Arab countries can boost their global competitiveness. While the Forum’s annual competitiveness assessments have spurred rivalries among economies, the issue is not so much how Arab countries rank compared to each other. The central value of benchmarking lies in determining the strengths and weaknesses of each economy and identifying the areas where improvement is needed and investments have to be made if a country is to boost its productivity.

The surpluses are being used to create bigger and bigger government. That is not sustainable.

Tarek Sultan Al-Essa, Co-Chair of the Arab World Competitiveness Roundtable; Chairman and Managing Director, Agility, Kuwait

• It is important for Gulf states to build bridges with Iran. Creating trust will require time and political will. Arab countries should first improve their own relationships before seeking to deepen ties with Iran. Iran should improve its business environment to foster commercial ties with Gulf economies. • Political will is also crucial in educational reform, which is critical if the region is to sustain growth. Education systems must meet the demands of business to stem the rise of unemployment. • Deeper regional integration is necessary to cut business costs and improve the global competitiveness of Arab countries. The region can address regional and global challenges and risks only through cooperative solutions. Furthermore, a more integrated Arab market would foster the development of global industry leaders from the region.

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Enhancing Competitiveness to Sustain the Growth Momentum in the Arab World

The Arab World Competitiveness Report 2007

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The whole region is a construction site whether it is buildings, schools or hospitals.

Although most countries have achieved

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Sustaining the Growth Momentum

significant progress, many challenges remain to be addressed, the most important one being an overhaul of educational systems.

Margareta Drzeniek Hanouz, Senior Specialist and Senior Economist at the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Network; Co-Editor of The Arab World Competitiveness Report 2007

Issa Abdul Salam Abu Issa, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Salam International Investment, Qatar

MARGARETA DRZENIEK HANOUZ World Economic Forum SHERIF EL DIWANY World Economic Forum TARIK YOUSEF Dubai School of Government

Fuelled in part by the oil price windfall, many of the Arab economies have been growing at levels not reached since the 1970s. According to the World Bank, in 2006 the region grew by an average of 6% over the year before. At the World Economic Forum’s Arab World Competitiveness Roundtable in Doha, participants focused on how Arab countries can sustain this momentum. Success has raised fresh challenges – not least how to meet heightened expectations and deal with new pressures, chief among them the urgent need to create jobs for the large number of young people who will enter the workforce in the coming years. The World Bank estimates that about 36% of the MENA region’s total population is less than 15 years old, compared to 21% for the US and 16% for the EU (see Box 1). These demographics could represent a great competitive advantage but could also prove a huge burden and source of instability if countries are unable to find employment for their youth.

Box 1: Youth and Opportunity (% of population under 15) Yemen West Bank/Gaza Iraq Saudi Arabia Syria Jordan Oman Egypt Iran Libya Lebanon Bahrain Israel Qatar Kuwait UAE

48.7 46.1 41.4 39.1 38.3 38.0 37.2 35.2 32.6 31.3 29.6 29.2 27.9 26.6 26.1 25.8

Source: The World Bank

Table 1a: Arab world GCI 2007 rankings in international comparison: Country group 3*

Switzerland Finland Sweden Denmark Singapore United States Japan Germany Netherlands United Kingdom Norway Hong Kong SAR Taiwan, China Iceland Israel Canada France Austria Australia Belgium Ireland New Zealand Luxembourg Korea, Rep. Estonia Spain Czech Republic Barbados United Arab Emirates Slovenia Portugal Qatar Hungary Italy Malta Kuwait Cyprus Greece Bahrain Trinidad and Tobago

Table 1c: Arab world GCI 2007 rankings in international comparison: Country group 1* GCR 2007

GCR 2007 Country/Economy

GCR 2007

Rank

Score

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

5.81 5.74 5.73 5.70 5.62 5.62 5.62 5.60 5.57 5.53 5.46 5.45 5.40 5.40 5.38 5.36 5.34 5.32 5.30 5.28 5.22 5.17 5.15 5.12 5.12 4.79 4.72 4.71 4.67 4.64 4.60 4.56 4.53 4.47 4.44 4.42 4.35 4.33 4.30 4.06

* Group 3 comprises innovation-driven economies (countries in the 3rd stage of development and those transitioning toward it).

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Table 1b: Arab world GCI 2007 rankings in international comparison: Country group 2* Country/Economy

Malaysia Chile Tunisia Latvia Thailand Lithuania Slovak Republic Oman South Africa Poland Costa Rica Croatia Jordan Mexico Kazakhstan Mauritius Panama Turkey Russian Federation Jamaica El Salvador Colombia Brazil Argentina Romania Libya Bulgaria Peru Algeria Uruguay Macedonia, FYR Botswana Venezuela Dominican Republic Namibia Ecuador Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbia and Montenegro Albania Suriname

Rank

Score

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

5.13 4.85 4.72 4.60 4.58 4.57 4.57 4.53 4.42 4.33 4.27 4.27 4.25 4.23 4.22 4.22 4.21 4.18 4.13 4.13 4.12 4.09 4.08 4.05 4.04 4.00 4.00 3.99 3.98 3.97 3.92 3.83 3.80 3.78 3.76 3.72 3.72 3.71 3.49 3.45

* Group 2 comprises efficiency-driven economies (countries in the 2nd stage of development and those transitioning toward it).

Country/Economy

Rank

Score

India Indonesia China Egypt Azerbaijan Philippines Morocco Guatemala Vietnam Ukraine Sri Lanka Syria Armenia Georgia Moldova Pakistan Honduras Mongolia Kenya Nicaragua Tajikistan Bolivia Nigeria Bangladesh Gambia Cambodia Benin Tanzania Paraguay Kyrgyz Republic Cameroon Guyana Madagascar Nepal Lesotho Uganda Zambia Mauritania Burkina Faso Malawi Zimbabwe Mali Ethiopia Mozambique Timor-Leste Chad Burundi Angola

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48

4.47 4.28 4.25 4.09 4.09 4.02 4.02 3.94 3.93 3.91 3.90 3.81 3.78 3.75 3.73 3.69 3.62 3.61 3.61 3.55 3.50 3.49 3.49 3.48 3.45 3.42 3.41 3.40 3.35 3.33 3.32 3.29 3.29 3.27 3.24 3.21 3.21 3.18 3.10 3.09 3.07 3.04 3.00 2.97 2.91 2.64 2.62 2.50

* Group 1 comprises factor-driven economies (countries in the 1st stage of development).

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whole rather than for Qatar alone, with the aim of trying to bring about a different mindset in the region.

“Although most countries have achieved significant progress, many challenges remain to be addressed,” said Margareta Drzeniek Hanouz, Senior Specialist and Senior Economist at the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Network and Co-Editor of the Report. “The most important weaknesses are to be found in the areas of education, low efficiency of goods markets as well as labour markets and, for the more advanced economies the very weak innovative capacity.” For the region to achieve its full competitive potential, it will need to address these shortcomings. This will require “a profound change in mindset,” said Sherif El Diwany, Director, Middle East, World Economic Forum. Roundtable participants focused on three priorities – pursuing necessary reforms however painful, boosting the role of the private sector and deepening regional integration. The overarching goal: to enhance the region’s competitiveness. This means finding and promoting new drivers of growth and productivity. At Doha, participants identified three such emerging industries: insurance, tourism and healthcare.

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Medical research is a key area we want to

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To meet these challenges particularly the job creation imperative, the region must first assess its competitiveness – the productivity of its economies benchmarked against the rest of the world – to determine how well prepared each is to sustain recent growth momentum. In Doha, the World Economic Forum released The Arab World Competitiveness Report 2007. The results identified the most competitive economies in the region in three groups as they performed against international peers. Ranking among those at the most advanced stage of development are the United Arab Emirates (#29), Qatar (32), Kuwait (36) and Bahrain (39), while among those in the middle group are Tunisia (3), Oman (8), Jordan (13), Libya (26) and Algeria (29). The most competitive Arab economies among the countries in the world at the lowest stage of development include Egypt (4), Morocco (7), Syria (12) and Mauritania (38).

focus on, especially disease patterns and what the people’s needs are. We need serious investment in medical research.

Sheikha Ghalia M. bin Hamad Al Thani, Chairperson of the National Health Authority, Qatar

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We need to completely transform our educational systems to match the demands of the business community.

M. Shafik Gabr, Chairman and Managing Director, Artoc Group for Investment & Development, Egypt; Chairman of the Arab Business Council

Sheikh Hamad Bin Jabor Bin Jassim Al-Thani, Secretary General of Qatar's Planning Council

There are other challenges confronting the Arab world and threatening its competitiveness, including how to prepare for potential health crises, how to enhance the role of the private sector while reining in state control, and how to deepen regional integration. And, of course, countries in the region together with the international community must address the turmoil in parts of the Middle East, particularly the IsraeliPalestinian conflict and the civil war in Iraq.

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Invest in education for the Arab world as a

While banking and financial services in Arab countries have grown significantly in recent years, the insurance sector lagged but is now catching up. According to Standard & Poor’s, the average value of Islamic insurance premiums written in the Gulf states is growing about 16 times faster than the average premiums in the global conventional insurance market. But it will require policy reforms to create the right regulatory framework, said Sheikh Khaled Bin Zayed Al Nehayan, Chairman of the Bin Zayed Group of the United Arab Emirates. “Improving the quality of service is key,” he said. “This market is going to open up. It will have much fiercer competition and we have to be ready for it.” A particular challenge is for countries to cooperate to set standards across jurisdictions, which would enhance the growth of the regional market. Creating a level playing field is critical. The dominant position of state-linked companies impedes growth, argued Sheik Nawaf Bin Nasser Bin Khalid Al Thani, Chairman of Doha Insurance in Qatar. In addition, huge oil surpluses have diminished the zeal for privatization. In healthcare, while the pursuit of reforms is important, “policy-makers are looking to the private sector for support,” said Mona Mourshed, Principal, McKinsey & Company, United Arab Emirates. According to Mazen S. Darwazeh, Co-Chair of the Arab World Competitiveness Roundtable and Chairman of Hikma Pharmaceuticals in Jordan, healthcare spending per capita in Arab countries is among the lowest in the world – on average only about 4.5% of GDP, excluding Turkey and Israel, compared with 13% in the US and 8% in Japan. “As we progress, we will be

able to live a better life,” said Darwazeh. “The private sector has to put in the extra effort and have a bigger involvement.” One area where private enterprise could have an impact is in research and development. “Medical research is a key area we want to focus on, especially disease patterns and what the people’s needs are,” said Sheikha Ghalia M. bin Hamad Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar’s National Health Authority. “We need serious investment in medical research.” There has to be more cooperation between academia and private industry in R&D, Darwazeh concluded. As Arab economies move up the value scale from being manufacturing-based to focusing more on services, tourism is a natural industry to promote. The job creation potential is significant. But the region must surmount a number of challenges including the negative perceptions that many outsiders have of the Middle East, due in part to one-sided media coverage. The key is to take a regional approach, something that has been difficult to do because of political differences, the lack of infrastructure and regulatory factors. Travel across the region for Arab citizens is not easy due to visa restrictions and infrastructure deficiencies. That is changing. The globalization of a handful of Gulf air carriers such as Qatar Airways and Emirates and the building of new ports and airports have improved transport links between the MENA region and the rest of the world. “Governments in this region have to put tourism as a high priority,” said Geoffrey Lipmann, Assistant Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in Madrid.

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the prosperity in the region do not become

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another era of boom and bust but an era that will allow the Arab world to compete with the rest of

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We need to ensure that the current oil boom and Governments in this region have to put tourism as a high priority.

the world.

Geoffrey Lipmann, Assistant Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Madrid

Tarik M. Yousef, Dean of the Dubai School of Government

For Arab countries to reap the competitive advantages offered by each of these emerging sectors, they must pursue reforms, expand the space for the private sector through the creation of level playing fields, and enhance regional integration. Many participants stressed that political will is needed for the region to move forward. Take education. Across the region, school systems simply do not produce enough skilled graduates to meet the needs of businesses, forcing many companies to bring in foreign workers even in the face of rising unemployment. “We need to completely transform our educational systems to match the demands of the business community,” said M. Shafik Gabr, Chairman and Managing Director, Artoc Group for Investment & Development, Egypt, who is also the Chairman of the Arab Business Council. If there is political will, there will be a way. Many countries are now implementing innovative initiatives to raise the quality of education and broaden participation. Qatar, for example, has imported specialized higher education programmes. The motive behind the strategy, explained Sheikh Hamad Bin Jabor Bin Jassim Al-Thani, Secretary General of Qatar’s Planning Council, is to invest in education for the Arab world as a whole rather than for Qatar alone, with the aim of “trying to bring about a different mindset in the region.” Students from many different countries are beginning to attend the programmes, he noted. In practically every session, participants echoed Gabr’s call to make education an overarching priority. “Education is the cornerstone for development of the region, but we must have a more sophisticated notion of that,” warned Mohamed J. A. Larijani, Director, Institute for Studies in Theoretical Physics and

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Mathematics, Islamic Republic of Iran. Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Airways, argued that ultimately experience, not simply schooling and training, is the key to economic growth. “No matter how educated you are, it is experience that is the key to efficiency,” he said. Tarek Sultan Al-Essa, Co-Chair of the Arab World Competitiveness Roundtable and Chairman and Managing Director, Agility, Kuwait, reckoned that the education system would be fundamentally undermined if hiring practices were not based on merit. In addition, formal education must be bolstered by the right R&D policies necessary to promote innovation and diversification of economies. Indeed, Sultan Al-Essa and others stressed that the competitiveness of Arab countries and their capacity to mitigate the many risks they face depend to a large extent on how the role of government and the public sector evolves. The surpluses of recent years, Sultan Al-Essa said, “are being used to create bigger and bigger government. That is not sustainable.” Government, he added, must focus on creating the right environment for the private sector to take the lead and for companies and businesses to become more productive. Qatar’s Al Baker noted that many Arab governments diminish their economy’s competitiveness through policies and practices, including through the imposition of quotas such as labour controls. Gabr supported this claim, calling for the creation of “a culture of competitiveness” and the elimination of protectionist thinking inherent in both the public and private sectors. Yet some participants denied that government should shoulder most of the blame. Said Sheikh Khaled Bin Zayed Al Nehayan: “When it comes to their self-interest, they [the private sector] are the worst enemy to competitiveness.”

This difference of opinion over the role of the public sector underscored another risk factor highlighted by Roundtable participants: the lack of dialogue and transparency between governments and the private sector. This leads to unpredictability that is the bane of business. “Legislation by surprise is the biggest risk for the Middle East,” Al Nehayan declared. “It happens too often.” Co-Chair Darwazeh added that legislative inconsistency and unpredictability were forcing Arab companies wanting to raise capital to go outside the region to list their companies. According to Charles Hollis, Managing Director, Consulting Services Group, Kroll Associates (MMC), United Kingdom, the lack of transparency and availability of accounts, even in publicly traded companies is hindering the capacity of the market to efficiently allocate resources and, hence, damaging value. The dynamic between the private and public sectors will be an important factor in shaping Arab countries competitiveness landscape. “People must understand the visions and strategies of governments,” advised Roundtable Co-Chair Zoheir Garranah, a former businessman who is now Egypt’s Minister of Tourism. “The government and private sector are like two parallel lines that never meet – information must be shared so we understand each other’s calculations and priorities.” Darwazeh noted that governments do not publish their fiscal policies and budgets. At lunch during the Roundtable, participants considered three possible scenarios for the region, looking ahead to 2025. Where Arab economies actually end up, said Hollis, depends to a large extent on “how much the private sector can engage government and how much government can engage the private sector.”

A major problem is that government-linked companies or state entities often compete with the private sector. The playing field is typically uneven. Corporate governance standards in state enterprises, which include the majority of the large companies in the region, are low, according to Abdulaziz O. Sager, Chairman of the Gulf Research Center in the UAE. As a consequence, the private sector has little incentive to improve its own governance practices. According to Sager, three vital factors make it difficult for the private sector to compete with the state. First, the government owns the land and controls land use. Second, the government is the biggest employer and sets wage levels. And third, nobody questions the lack of transparency of state-owned companies. Arab multinational firms, said Hanadi N. Al Thani, ViceChairperson and Managing Director of Amwal, are generally government-owned companies that face little or no risk at home, allowing them more scope when making investments overseas. Private Arab companies do not enjoy such advantages. To spur a private sector surge, the role of government should be limited, said Kuwait’s Sultan Al-Essa. “We need to set targets for downsizing the government impact on the business sector.” He observed: “The role of government and public sectors seems to be shifting from provider/investor to regulator/facilitator. This is key across all sectors and will unleash growth across the region.” According to Hollis “better governance is not an aim in itself, it can also aid better decisions in making investments and reduce vulnerability to fraud.”

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sustainable. We should not just be building

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What is important is that tourism should be hotels, advertising the beaches and the sea. What is important is to attract people interested in history and culture.

Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Airways, Qatar

But oil boom surpluses may be spiking the zeal for reform and inspiring bloated government. “How would we compete if we didn’t have the surpluses that we have now?” Sultan Al-Essa pointedly asked. Cautioned Tarik M. Yousef, Dean of the Dubai School of Government: “We need to ensure that the current oil boom and the prosperity in the region do not become another era of boom and bust but an era that will allow the Arab world to compete with the rest of the world.” Still, said Qatar Planning Council Chief Sheikh Hamad, the role of oil in Arab countries cannot be underestimated. “The hydrocarbon business is the catalyst for future sustainability.” Yet, even if the region effectively pursues reforms and the private sector steps up while the public sector recedes, the Arab region will falter if countries do not make a sincere effort to deepen integration. While there may be serious differences between states, economic cooperation could mitigate such clashes and even improve understanding as it has done in the European Union, former British foreign secretary Lord Owen, Chancellor of the University of Liverpool, told participants. In addition, the removal of barriers to transport, trade and investment would lower business costs in the region and foster the development of global industry leaders from the region. The Arab world is like the EU 30 years ago, added Niki Tzavella, Vice-President of the Kokkalis Foundation in Greece. Greater cooperation has become essential. “Arab countries stick to their loneliness,” she asserted. “The sooner you open up the market, you become global yourself. But there is no solidarity. You must lean on each other. Open up the borders.” She suggested that the richer Arab countries should help to upgrade their poorer brethren within the region, as was the practice in the EU.

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In the discussion of Arab regionalization, the issue of relations with Iran and the risks inherent to the current geopolitical situation obviously loomed large. Participants from both sides of the Persian Gulf agreed that they had to strengthen mutual trust. Jordan’s Darwazeh said that Iran is not a threat but an opportunity. He suggested, however, that Arabs had to concentrate on enhancing the relationships among themselves first before turning their attention to forging stronger ties with Iran. The private sector is moving ahead of the politicians in developing links across the Gulf, but the difficult business environment in Iran is a major obstacle, said Khalid Abdulla-Janahi, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Shamil Bank of Bahrain in Switzerland and Vice-Chairman of the Arab Business Council. Iran poses no threat to its neighbours and is open to greater cooperation, said Larijani. The Iranians would even be willing to share their controversial nuclear technology, he added. But, he concluded, “confidence is acquired; you cannot buy it.” The forward position of business that Abdulla-Janahi highlighted underscored how in the MENA region, business is showing how politics and ancient enmities should not be used as obstacles to the region’s economic and social progress. In one session, Issa Abdul Salam Abu Issa, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Salam International Investment in Qatar, spoke of the challenges facing high-growth companies such as his as they aim to have a regional and global impact. “As a company grows, it may encounter several problems,” he said. “Unless a company has a well-defined vision, strategy and structure, it cannot succeed. The lack of talented people makes matters worse.” The same can certainly be said of the Arab countries. Without a well-defined regional vision, a strategy for competitiveness and effective institutions, the Arab world will simply not succeed. 13 | Arab World Competitiveness Roundtable

Acknowledgements

Contributors

The World Economic Forum wishes to recognize the support of the following companies as Partners of the Arab World Competitiveness Roundtable:

Peter Torreele is Managing Director of the World Economic Forum. Sherif El Diwany is Director, Head of Middle East, at the Forum. The Arab World Competitiveness Roundtable was under his direct responsibility, with Sofiane Khatib, Global Leadership Fellow, Middle East; Denise Burnet, Principal, Head of Events; Rosanna Mastrogiacomo, Senior Event Manager; and Amal Mbarki, Community Relations Manager, Middle East.

Official Host and Strategic Partner

Roundtable Partners

Qatar Airways

Doha Insurance Qatar Financial Centre Authority Qatar Telecom (Q-TEL) QSC Salam International

Report Writers: Alejandro Reyes and Saamir Elshihabi Associate Principal, Editing: Nancy Tranchet Design and Layout: Kamal Kimaoui, Associate Principal, Production and Design Photographs: Khaled Ismail and Tamam Ahmed Al Agha

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Arab World Competitiveness Roundtable Doha, 9-10 April 2007

The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas. Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. (www.weforum.org)

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