The participants at the three-day event will suggest measures to achieve sustainable growth that would be well integrated into the global economic, social and political fabric.

General Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister, will, in his opening address, call upon the region to wake up from its complacency and face the challenges that world events have imposed on the Arab world.

Former US president Bill Clinton will be the keynote speaker at the forum. 

“Former president Clinton, along with other heads of states, premiers, ministers, top policy-makers, global corporate heads, senior management of civil society organisations and global institutions, experts, academics and influential opinion-makers are getting together as a leading-edge think-tank to provide an insight of what they see the Arab world in a global context in the future,” commented Mohammed Al Gergawi, Chairman of the Organising Committee of Arab Strategy Forum.

“We look forward to hearing what globally respected thinkers have to say about the future of our region. What we learn from them will help and assist us in developing a blueprint to lead us into a future of prosperity and wellbeing for all,” added Al Gergawi.

The inaugural ceremony will be followed by the first session devoted to the theme of the Arab Strategy Forum. Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Saud, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Kingdom will be joined by Shaikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, in discussing the blueprint for the region.

Prince Turki and Shaikh Hamad will deal with complex questions on how the Arab world will fit into a new global fabric and how the region will be affected by the American tendency to establish bilateral strategic partnerships outside conventional blocs and centres of influence in the Arab world.

The second session of the first day will follow up on the theme’s political aspects. Matters of governance, transparency, democracy and political reform are to be brought up in an open and frank discussion. Also, the key issue of Iraq’s internal developments impacting on the Arab world will be discussed.

The third session will feature Dr Mohammed ElBaradei, Director-General of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, who will lead off discussions on the ‘Security in the Arab World in 2020’.

Issues of how the global war on terrorism would impact on the region and its institutions and whether an integrated pan-Arab security model is feasible are some of the issues that will be the limelight.

The first day will also witness several workshops on key topics in parallel to the Arab Strategy Forum. These include the workshop on ‘Fighting Terrorism’ that will be led by Prince Turki. The workshop on ‘Fundamentals of Political Reforms: Shifts in Governance’ will be guided by Shaikh Hamad and the third workshop will be on ‘Clash of Civilisations – Alignment or Conflict?’

Rafiq Al Hariri, former premier of Lebanon, will speak on the second day of the forum on ‘Can Economics Succeed Where Politics Failed?’

To follow up on Hariri’s views will be the discussion on ‘Globalisation of Economics and Business in 2020 — The Future of Economic and Financial Reform in the Arab world’, which are to be led by the United Arab Emirates’ first and only woman minister, Shaikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of Economy and Planning. She will be joined in the discussions, among others, by Naguib Sawiris, Chairman of Egypt’s leading business hose, Orascom.

The second session of the second day is devoted to discussing the issue of Iraq and Libya’s present and future.

Future of oil

The third session of the second day is dedicated to discussions on the future of oil and OPEC, the challenges and factors that influence the sector. To lead the effort to map out a future scenario will be Abdullah bin Hamad Al Atiyah, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy & Industry in Qatar.

The workshops that will run parallel to the Forum on the second day include subjects such as ‘Moving Towards a Free Trade Economy: The Future of Family Business’. The discussion will feature Naguib Sawiris.

Developing tomorrow’s leaders is an issue that will be raised in a workshop on ‘The Arab World: Between the Realities of Today and the Promises of Tomorrow’. The finale of the day will be the discussion with famous Columnist for The New York Times, Thomas Freidman, which will deal with the issue of ‘Exploring the World after 9/11’.

The third and final day will feature Dato Seri Abdullah Badawi, Prime Minister of Malaysia, who  will provide an insight on how human development can be the engine of economic growth.

The subject will be picked up by Dr Rima Khalaf Hunaidi, Assistant Secretary-General and Director, Regional Bureau for Arab States at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). She will be joined by an eminent panel to  discuss the issue of ‘Human Development in the Arab World in 2020: The Knowledge-based Society and the IT Revolution’.

 Other sessions on the last day will ‘Arab Labour Markets in 2020 – Population Growth and the War for Talent’ with focus on topics such as unemployment and the deficiencies of the educational system in providing for a future skills base.

The New York Times Columnist Thomas Friedman will again take centre stage at the closing session of the Arab Strategy Forum 2004, in a highly interactive discussion on the ‘The Rise and Fall of Countries and Corporations’. The session will focus on what are the key factors that would shape Arab growth and how can the region learn from the experience of others.

CNN to be exclusive broadcast partner

CNN has been chosen as the exclusive broadcast partner for the Arab Strategy Forum, being organised in Dubai from tomorrow to December 15, in conjunction with Al Sharq Al Awsat.

 Walter Rodgers, CNN's senior international correspondent will open the forum and introduce  General Shaikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister, under whose patronage the Arab Strategy Forum will take place.

 "CNN has a long and honorable commitment to this region and it is a privilege to have been chosen as the exclusive broadcast partner for this prestigious forum," said Ron Ciccone, Senior Vice-President and Managing Director for Turner Broadcasting System Europe (TBS) for the Middle East. "It is an honour to work with our fellow partners Al Shark Al Awsat, in what will undoubtedly be an informative and stimulating two days."

 Rodgers will also introduce the forum's keynote speaker, former US president Bill Clinton as well as prime ministers, foreign ministers and dignitaries from around the region, who will come together to discuss the future challenges and opportunities of the Arab World.