Greater openness is a part of economic reform

The forum itself certainly showed a new willingness to discuss important regional issues in the UAE. Previously the UAE tended to operate behind the scenes as an honest broker, and such problems were not aired at public events.

Last week's Arab Strategy Forum was thus a decisive break with the past. To watch the Prime Minister of Libya and the Foreign Minister of Iraq being grilled with difficult questions in the UAE was something new. Likewise UAE Economy Minister Sheikh Lubna Al Qasimi handled tricky issues with a new openness.

If nothing else this new spirit of openness and transparency among Arab governments gave some hope for real change in the Arab World of 2020, which was the theme of the forum.

Change is never easy in any organization, let alone in nations. But part of the process is a willingness to declare your true position, even if that means uncovering a few things that would have been covered up in the past, and upsetting people in the process.

Yet the wind of change is now blowing strongly in the Arab World. For business this means greater openness and transparency in business transactions and a fairer deal for shareholders.

This does not mean that business has to succumb to the 'tyranny of the accountant', although a far greater role for auditors and the standardization of business practice is implicit in this process. However, the wider benefits of such reforms should not be overlooked.

Businesses in the Arab World are significantly undervalued by international standards, precisely because they limit their shareholdings to certain groups, keep accounts opaque and fail to conform to international standards. The benefit of reform is that it will liberate this value to shareholders; in short their shares will be worth more money.

Just look at how UAE shares soared in value last week, partly because investors liked what they saw at the Arab Strategy Forum which received wide media coverage.

And that is quite apart from the impact that greater openness and better business procedures will have on the operational performance of any company. Do cozy cartels and insider deals really serve the best interests of the company, or only the few individuals involved?

Certainly not, but we do seem to have reached a critical point in the Arab world where even the insiders realize that change is in their best interest, and that of course is when real change starts.