King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has confirmed his approval to support the 2nd Global Competitiveness Forum

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has confirmed his approval to support the 2nd Global Competitiveness Forum which will take place in Riyadh between 20 and 22 January 2008, said Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) during a press conference held today, at their headquarters in Riyadh.

Government keynote speakers and prominent local business leaders from Saudi Arabia will attend the forum which is themed Competitiveness as an Engine for Economic Growth' 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 Bin Abdullah Al Dabbagh, Governor of SAGIA, expressed his thanks and gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the leader of modern economical reform drive in KSA, for supporting the forum saying that this generous support underlines Kingdoms strides for becoming a key player in global economic growth.

Al Dabbagh highlighted that GCF 2008 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 with a special focus on improving investment environment prioritisation in the wake of recent world events and sharing expertise and experience with international speakers.

'Delegates can expect incisive presentations followed by lively panel discussions and debates made be government officials and private sector executives leading to the gradual and sustainable improvement of investment environment in Saudi Arabia as dictated by the 10 X 10 target whereby KSA becomes one of the top 10 countries in terms of investment environment competitiveness by 2010.' added Al Dabbagh.

The 2nd Global Competitiveness Forum is a continuation of the success accomplished in the first GCF 2006, which was also under the patronage of king Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, and was themed 'ICT as an Enabler for Competitiveness'. The first forum took place in Riyadh 8/11/2006 and featured Mr. Bill Gates, Chairman of Microsoft as a keynote speaker.

Mr. Abdul Mohsen Al Badr, CEO GCF said that preparations for the forum have been underway. 'Many local and international business leaders have been invited to participate in GCF 2008.' added Al Badr, 'The forum's programme will comprise twelve session addressing various topics related to competitiveness and its impact on global and local economic growth.'

Al Badr revealed that the list of local keynote speaker who have confirmed participation in GCF 2008 include Dr. Hashim Yamani, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Mohammed Jamil Mulla, Minister of ICT, Mr. Amr Al Dabbagh, Governor and Chairman of SAGIA, Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim Al Suwail, Chairman of King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology and Mr. Khalid Al Melhem, Director General of Saudi Arabian Airlines.

The list of discussants and panellists includes a number prominent international academicians form world's leading business institutions including Professor Michael Porter from Harvard University - 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 John Chambers, Chairman and CEO Cisco Systems, Alan Boekmann, Chairman & CEO Fluor Company, Mr. David Kim, Chairman of Daesung Group, Dr. Gro Brundtland, Former Prime Minister of Norway and Former Director General of the World Health Organisation, Dr. Daniel Vasella, Chairman of Novartis Group, Mr. Nandan Nilekani, CEO of Infosys Company, Dr. Axel Claus Heitmann, President and Chairman of Lanxess Company, Dr. Hartmut Mehdorn, CEO of Deutsche Bahn, Mr. Nigel Turner, CEO of BMI Company, Sir Terence Matthews, Chairman of Wesley Cover Group, Dr. Werner Brendt, Member of the Board of SAP Company, Mr. Chey Tae Won, Chairman of SK Corporation, Mr. Hector Ruiz, Chairman and CEO of AMD Company, Mr. Don Thornhill, Chairman of Ireland's NCC, Mr. Yasuyuki Nambu, President and CEO of Pasona Inc. and many others.

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.

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.