22,000 jobs needed per day to combat high unemployment rate in Arab world

The 7th MIT Pan-Arab Conference: Manufacturing for Jobs, Growth and Diversification will be held at the Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi on January 19-20, 2013.

According to a recent IMF study, the Arab world must add 22,000 new jobs per day until 2020 and manufacturing is a key sector which can accelerate the growth and development needed to tackle this challenge.

Regional and global leaders speaking at the 7th MIT Pan-Arab Conference include:
1. His Excellency Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Saudi Arabia
2. His Excellency Abdullatif Al-Othman, Governor, Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority
3. His Excellency Ahmed Chami, Former Minister of Industry, Trade, and New Technologies, Morocco
4. Mohamed Al-Mady, Vice Chairman and CEO, SABIC
5. Jim McIlvenny, Senior Vice President, The Dow Chemical Company
6. John Rice, Vice Chairman, GE and President and CEO, GE Global Growth and Operations
7. Homoon Kang, Vice Chairman, Samsung Electronics
8. David Steel, Senior Vice President, Samsung Electronics
9. Motassim Al-Maashouq, Vice President, Saudi Aramco
10. Martin A. Schmidt, Associate Provost and Professor of Electrical Engineering, MIT
11. Joe Saddi, Chairman, Booz & Company
12. Amer Majali, Chief Commissioner, Development and Free Zones Commission, Jordan
13. Azzam Shalabi, President, National Industrial Clusters Development Program, Saudi Arabia
14. Ahmed Yahia Al-Idrissi, Executive Director, Mubadala Industry
15. Professor Fred Moavenzadeh, President, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology
16. Professor Stefan Catsicas, Provost and Executive Vice President, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
17. Ziad Al-Labban, CEO, Sadara Chemical Company
18. Gassan Al Kibsi, Director, McKinsey & Company
19. Dr. Hani Shammah, Head of Private Equity, National Bank of Abu Dhabi
20. Nader H. Sultan, Senior Partner at F+N Consultancy and Former CEO, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation
21. Zuhair Allawi, President, Dow Saudi Arabia
22. Badr Al-Olama, CEO, Strata Manufacturing
23. Abdulrahman Al-Ubaid, Founder and Managing Director, Saudi Development and Innovation Group.

Mr. Talal Kheir, President of the MIT AAA, said: "The Conference will focus on the future of manufacturing and its potential in meeting two of the Arab world's most pressing demands: job creation and economic diversification. The objective of the conference is to bring together leaders in technology, policy, industry, education and finance to discuss innovations and showcase solutions that have the potential to significantly impact today's global manufacturing challenges."

Topics addressed at the two-day conference will include institutional, regulatory, and macroeconomic issues pertaining to manufacturing; education, training and innovation in manufacturing and their impact on employment, entrepreneurship and investment opportunities; plus models for a globally competitive Arab manufacturing sector.

Conference delegates will include senior government and industry leaders from the Middle East, Europe, Asia and North America, MIT faculty, students and alumni, as well as regional business leaders and professionals.