São Paulo – The World Economic Forum will promote its edition for the Arab countries from October 21st to 23rd, in the Jordanian portion of the Dead Sea. Under the theme “The future of Middle East and North Africa,” the event, according to the organizers, “could not take place at a more critical time for the region.”
According to the organizers, the forum will be an opportunity to assess the events that marked the Arab world this year and devise strategies to boost human development and growth combined with social inclusion.
The uprisings that led to the downfall of the Tunisian and Egyptian regimes, in the eruption of a civil conflict in Libya and in the Syrian political crisis will be central topics in the debates. The idea is to discuss solutions to the problems of the region, particularly concerning the youth.
According to the organizers, the event should bring together approximately 1,000 participants, including private sector representatives, government officials, civil society organizations, the press and scholars. A statement issued by the forum highlights the urgency of fighting unemployment among the youth and social inequality, all the while guaranteeing the region’s macroeconomic stability.
According to the statement, as of 1970, the region had only 120 million inhabitants. Now, there are over 300 million people, in a population considered to be one of the youngest in the world. “This change in demographics has led to increased expectations regarding the region’s growth, governance and resource management,” according to the statement.
Debates will be held with specific sectors of the regional economy, such as aviation, tourism, consumer goods, energy, health assistance, information technologies, infrastructure and urbanism.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
