The World Economic Forum (WEF), the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation, will host its regional meeting on the Middle East and North Africa at the Dead Sea in Jordan on 6-7 April 2019, according to a statement.
It said the gathering, held in partnership with the King Abdullah II Fund for Development (KAFD), will be the 10th meeting in Jordan and 17th in the region.
More than 1,000 government, business and civil society leaders from over 50 countries will convene to discuss the impact of new technologies on the Arab world, how to strengthen entrepreneurship, peace and reconciliation efforts across the region, and the effects of climate change and other environmental challenges, it said.
Building on the Forum’s Annual Meeting in January in Davos and its theme of Globalization 4.0, the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa will take place under the theme Charting New Systems of Cooperation, added the statement.
“There is a clear recognition in the region that the economic models that have delivered in the past need to be reformed to ensure competitiveness in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and to meet the expectations of the region’s youth in terms of tackling environmental degradation, persistent conflict and corruption,” said Mirek Dusek, Deputy Head of the Centre for Geopolitical and Regional Affairs at the World Economic Forum.
“The meeting in Jordan provides a timely platform for joint action and will feature a number of special initiatives, including 100 top start-ups from the Arab world”, he said
With the full support and presence of Their Majesties King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Al Abdullah, the meeting will convene leaders from Gulf Cooperation Council countries, the Levant and North Africa and key international stakeholders from East Africa, Europe and the United States.
