Arab Competitiveness Roundtable in Qatar ends with announcement of new initiatives to tackle reform in the region

Bahrain announced the creation of its own council at the meeting, and a number of business leaders from other Arab countries announced their intention to follow suit.

The meeting which was organized around the release of the World Economic Forum's Arab World Competitiveness Report saw more than two hundred leaders, principally from business and politics, coming together to discuss how best to tackle the economic problems facing the region particularly unemployment which is already one of the highest rates in the world.

At the meeting 15 Bahraini leaders from the private sector, government, and civil society gave details of the creation of a Bahraini National Competitiveness Council. The idea of National Competitiveness Councils first emerged after the publication of the first World Economic Forum Arab World Competitiveness Report in 2003. National Competitiveness Councils are independent organisations, representing all parts of the society, whose sole aim is to encourage competitiveness by measuring and monitoring the effect of economic policies and by pushing for openness and reform.

The first National Competitiveness Council was created in Egypt in 2004, through the active efforts of Egyptian members of the Arab Business Council and private sector, of government, and academics. The first Egyptian Competitiveness Report was published the same year, and the second one is underway.

During the Annual Meeting of the Arab Business Council in Marrakech on November 2004, members from Bahrain, Jordan and the UAE committed to create National Competitiveness Councils in their country. Shortly after, Kuwaiti and Qatari members announced their plans for creating councils in their respective country.

The Bahraini National Competitiveness Council was created with the participation of Vice Chairman of the Arab Business Council Mr. Khalid Abdulla-Janahi. Members of the founding committee elected Mr. Jawad Habib Jawad as Chairman, and Ms. Sulaf Zakharia, from the Economic Development Board of Bahrain, as Secretary General.

Mr. Abdulla-Janahi officially announced the creation of the Bahraini Competitiveness Council during the Arab Competitiveness Roundtable in Doha on 2 April, with the newly elected Secretary General Ms. Sulaf Zakharia, who contributed to the Arab World Competitiveness Report 2005 published by the World Economic Forum, and released on the same occasion.

Qatari members of the Arab Business Council, together with the members of the government and civil society, are also actively working on the creation of the Qatar National Competitiveness Council, which will be formed at the end of April 2005.

Some of the insights from the Qatar meeting on Arab Competitiveness will be taken on to the World Economic Forum's next meeting in the region in Jordan in six weeks time. The World Economic Forum in Jordan 2005 20-22nd May will feature a report back from the Qatar meeting and further progress on competitivity.

Speaking for the World Economic Forum, managing director Fred Sicre said, ' the Qatar meeting forms part of a year round and longstanding commitment to the region. In Jordan, we will continue the work started here and particularly, working with the Arab Business Council, we will work with business leaders from the region to push for solutions and for reform. Without those reforms the Arab world will be unable to play a full part in an ever globalizing economy".