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Alabbar urges govts to stay out of business

Speaking at the main plenary session yesterday at the Jeddah Economic Forum being held here, Alabbar said that governments should focus on providing the core framework essential for the efficient operation of complex modern markets.

"The primary role of government was to remove barriers and facilitate economic growth by initiating investor-friendly regulations that encourage foreign investment. This could only happen if the public sector adopted the model of private sector corporations in order to provide efficient services," he observed.

"The role of the government is that of a leader that provides the vision for its people and direction for the economy, while creating and facilitating the environment for growth," he maintained.

"Our focus must be on creating improved transparency and disclosure, resulting from government performance-based budgeting systems, linking spending with measured results and outcomes. And this can only happen when the public sector begins to measure itself with the same yardstick as the private sector," said Alabbar.

Professor Tim Niblock from the Institute of Arab & Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, United Kingdom and Hassan Heikal Co-Chairman & CEO, EFG-Hermes Holding. Egypt also spoke in the session.

Alabbar acknowledged the significant responsibility of governments, suggesting that the need for efficient government mechanisms had never been more evident than in present circumstances.

He stressed the need for strong public private sector partnerships that would enable the government to provide more efficient services for its citizens.

Earlier in the day, Alabbar also participated in a special selective session on the ambitious Emaar joint venture with its Saudi partners: "Greenfields for the Future — King Abdullah Economic City," where he discussed Emaar's recently launched King Abdullah Economic City.