JEF in the Media

Preliminary Program

13 February 2010: Inaugural Session
The Jeddah Hilton

20:00–20:10    Introductory Documentary Film show on the history of the Jeddah    Economic Forum
20:10-20:20     Welcome Address by Mr. Abdulaziz Sager, Chairman, Gulf Research Center (GRC)
20:20-20:30     Welcome Address by the Chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI)
20:30-20:40     Welcome Address by the Governor of Mecca province, H.R.H. Prince Khalid Al-Faisal
20:40-21:10     First Keynote Address
21:10-21:40     Second Keynote Address

Day One: 14 February 2010
The Jeddah Hilton

10:00-12:00     Plenary Session I - Global Economic Governance

The global economic crisis has spawned a widespread debate about the need for a restructuring and re-ordering of the institutions governing the economic and financial interaction of the globe. Both in terms of responding to the immediate downturn as well as laying out the framework for more medium to long-term recovery, governments have proceeded to lay out a variety of strategies that attempt to deal with the present situation. Here, differences have become apparent, for example, in the adequacy of respective financial stimulus packages as a mechanism on the road to recovery. This, however, has led to questions about whether the major economic players have reached a better understanding concerning the underlying forces at the heart of the current crisis and what policies are necessarily required to lead to greater market stabilization. Similarly, it is unclear whether the alternative positions being promoted have led to degree of consensus to be formed or whether fundamental differences will ultimately prevent essential reforms from being implemented. There is a danger that persisting differences of opinion may lead to conflicting policies, which in the end may undermine global economic integration, either through conflict on currencies or trade or investment or commodities.  

12:00-13:30     Luncheon Break

13:30-15:30     Plenary Session II - The Future of the Reserve Currencies

Ten years after the creation of the euro, the debate on the future of the dollar has again come to the fore. Policies of aggressive liquidity creation on the part of the Federal Reserve have succeeded in stemming the tide of the recession, but create doubts for the future stability of the currency. Will the United States experience higher inflation as a consequence? Can the US Government restore reasonable budget equilibrium, notwithstanding the much increased burden of servicing accumulated debt? Will the process of diversification of reserves of key surplus countries continue? Will international investors continue to put their faith in dollar-denominated financial assets? Can the SDR provide an alternative anchor, and if so how should it be redefined and managed? Or should some link to commodities (not necessarily only gold) be explored? Managing the transition from a dollar standard to a “multipolar currency” world may be tricky, and the danger of a sudden loss of confidence in the dollar may loom large over the next decade.

15:30-16:00     Break

16:00-18:00     Plenary Session III - Banking and Finance  

The global financial crisis has led to a general reexamination of economic thinking and a widespread call for more state intervention and regulation of financial markets. At the same time, the apparent recovery underway has led to serious questions about the actual lessons learned, the ability and/or need to introduce new international financial regulatory instruments, the role of effective and responsible leadership, and the outlook for a more sustainable and inclusive framework for both industrialized, emerging and poor economies alike. This session will highlight the impact of the global economic crisis on the banking and finance sector and focus on the required instruments for the next decade so that a repeat and even more prolonged crisis can be avoided.  

18:00               End of Day One

Day Two: 15 February 2010
The Jeddah Hilton

10:00-11.30     Plenary Session IV - Energy and the Environment

The GCC will remain the main provider of hydrocarbons to the world: can the price of oil be stabilized at a level that will ensure sufficient investment to meet the requirements of renewed global growth? Can greater coordination be achieved between supply and demand growth so as to avoid repeated price shocks? The emerging countries are facing rapidly growing energy demand growth, especially for electric power, and need to diversify their power generation base. What prospects for civilian nuclear energy? How should international cooperation in the nuclear field best be approached? What prospects for other renewable sources of energy? Will there be a new agreement to succeed the Kyoto protocol and limit global carbon emissions? In this context, will carbon capture and sequestration play a significant role? The next ten years will see the beginnings of a new, more considerate mode of energy consumption in the industrial countries, and the goal of greater energy equality may begin to appear feasible. At the same time, the danger of conflict on access to specific resources or division of the financial burden required to avert global warming will probably intensify.

11:30-12:00     Refreshment Break

12.00-13.30     Plenary Session V      Trade and Investment          

The recession has raised the specter of protectionism once again, possibly under the form of hidden and not explicitly discriminatory policies in support of national industry. At the same time, little progress has been achieved in multilateral trade negotiations in the framework of the WTO. Will it be possible to successfully resume negotiations within the Doha Round? What is the level of compliance with WTO obligations? If the multilateral track registers no progress, we may witness continuing reliance on bilateral and inter-regional trade and investment pacts. Are we heading towards a world of regional trading blocks? Will regionalization be the compromise between protectionism and globalization? Nationalist attitudes have also come to the fore with respect to investment, with several cases of acquisitions by foreign companies blocked on security or national interest grounds. Is freedom of international investment possible? Political considerations appear to have been affecting international trade and investment to an increasing extent. Should political conditions be attached to trade and investment openness?

13:30-15:00     Luncheon Break

15.00-16.30     Plenary Session VI     Agriculture and Food Security

The pronounced increases of food prices in 2007 and 2008 have put food security on the global agenda. Even after price corrections since then, food prices still hover considerably above their long term average and many experts expect a secular rise in food prices. Population growth and increased consumption of meat and dairy products in emerging markets will face a growing depletion of water resources and limited arable land. At the same time climate change is taking its toll on agricultural production in some world regions like Africa or Asia. As a result, this session will focus on the outlook for global agricultural supply and demand, the challenges for food security from various regional perspectives, as well as the prerogatives and motivations for global agricultural investments.

16:30               End of Day Two
 

Day Three: 16 February 2010
King Abdulla University for Science and Technology KAUST

10:00-11:30     Plenary Session VII - Health 

The future of health involves much more than the future of medical care since the major factors affecting health are environmental, social and economic ones. While health has seen tremendous improvement over the past century, the continuation of this trend is at present threatened by such items as population growth, urbanization, environmental changes, widespread poverty, increasing inequity, war and other conflict situations, as well as the rapid spread of infectious diseases and the danger of pandemics. All of this involves the establishment of new policies and strategies emerging to deal with these challenges include the formulation of healthy public policy, investing in health, and the development of new structures and processes of governance.

11:30-13:00     Plenary Session VIII - Science &Technology

The world is undergoing wide-ranging scientific and technological developments that will significantly influence society and the global economy over the next decade. Technologies related to the field of renewable energy will advance considerably, and cheaper solar as well as wind power generation will come into wide-scale use. The technical, social and business aspects of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) will continue to shape our way of interacting, doing business and solving local as well as global challenges, but will ICT, as has been predicted, form the foundation upon which the global economic recovery will occur? A wide spectrum of Biotechnology applications will continue to be refined and will affect medical and food industries, transforming the health and agriculture sectors. Nanotechnologies will act as a catalyst across other technologies, for example to facilitate the engineering of new materials and new capabilities, including more energy efficient housing, improved water treatments and green manufacturing. The greatest technological advances and hence the greatest potential impact on the global economy will come in areas where Nanotechnologies, Biotechnologies and ICT are applied in an integrated and synergistic way.

13:00-14:30     Luncheon Break

14:30-16:00     Plenary Session IX -   Education

Continued investment in education and skills development is critical for both a sustainable recovery from the current economic crisis as well as for long-term development. But the process on moving forward on educational development to achieve tangible successes, to match educational output with labor market needs in the developing knowledge and information economy, and the speed required to implement educational reforms to match the requirements of globalization, is highly complex and increasingly difficult to implement. While the state, in particular in the developing and emerging countries, is likely to maintain a high level of spending to promote educational development, thereby challenging industrial societies in their competitiveness, the questions beckons to what degree this can be maintained and whether the anticipated impact can be achieved. What really are the parameters that will guide educational advancement in the next decade and to what degree will the corresponding developments in the world economy affect this course of action?