The Global Competitiveness Forum 2008 to convene in Riyadh

The announcement was made by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) at a press conference held recently.

Themed 'Competitiveness as an Engine for Economic Growth' the two-day forum will bring together some 50 international businesses, corporate and political leaders who will debate and address a range of issues challenging the global and local economic landscape. Regulators, government keynote speakers and prominent local business leaders from Saudi Arabia will also attend the forum and present papers highlighting Saudi strides for leveraging competitive edge to become a major player and contributor to global economic growth. The event will also provide an insight into investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia ahead of local businesses and global companies.

Mr. Amr Al Dabbagh, Governor of SAGIA said that the GCF play host to a wide array of leading speakers from the worlds of commerce, politics and academia who will address some of the primary international issues to help set reform priorities in the wake of recent world events. Al Dabbagh said, 'The forum has become now a major global annual event that sets a precedent for economic and business discussion - and this year's event will consider key economic factors that have a direct and indirect impact on economic growth worldwide particularly in Saudi Arabia.'

Orgainsed by the National Competitiveness Centre (NCC) of SAGIA, this year's event has attracted much interest from senior government officials in Saudi Arabia, namely, Dr. Hashim Yamani, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Mohammed Jamil Mulla, Minister of ICT and Mr. Amr Al Dabbagh, Governor and Chairman of SAGIA.

Also it has attracted some of the world's leading academic institutions and the range of speakers and panellists including Dr. John Quelch, senior Associate Dean, Harvard Business School, Professor Stephan Garelli, Director IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, Professor Jane Nelson, Senior Fellow and Director of CSR Initiative, Harvard University and Dr. Amory Lovins, Chairman Rocky Mountain Institute. - and well known business leaders including Lubna Olayan, CEO, Olayan Financial Holding Company, John Chambers, Chairman and CEO Cisco Systems, James Wolfensohn, Former President of the World Bank.

Entering the Global Competitiveness Report 2007 - 2008 which has been recently released by World Economic Forum, Saudi Arabia has been ranked 35 and has been recognised as the third most stable economy worldwide. The rankings are calculated from both publicly available data and the executive opinion survey conducted by the World Economic Forum. This year, over 11,000 business leaders were polled in a record 131 countries.

GCF 2008 convenes at the background of the reform taking place in the kingdom contributing to the improvement of its ranking as inward investment attracting environment. Such improvement has been reflected by from international highly credible independent institution's testimonials.

According to 'Doing Business Report 2008' released by IFC of the World Bank, KSA ranked the top investment environment throughout the Middle East and the Arab World. The report assesses business and trade environment and investment competitiveness in 178 countries worldwide. Saudi Arabia ranked 23 of 178 countries in 2008 report visa-vis 38 in 2007 and 67 of 135 countries in 2005. Similarly, KSA was one of the top ten countries in the world that carried out tangible economic reforms between 2006 and 2007 according to the World Bank.

'Delegates can expect incisive presentations followed by lively panel discussions and debates,' concluded Amr Dabbagh. 'The GCF has captured the attention of international and local businessmen and continues to grow in importance and stature. It will be an agenda-setting event for Saudi Arabia and for the region at large. It will be one of the most exciting and challenging forums to-date, and the most significant event of the region's commercial year.'