The Arab world must add 22,000 new jobs per day until 2020 and manufacturing is a key sector which can accelerate the growth and development needed to tackle this challenge, according to the IMF study.
The MIT Arab Alumni Association (MIT AAA), with the lead sponsorship of Sadara Chemical Company and its parent companies, the Dow Chemical Company and Saudi Aramco, is convening world and regional industry leaders this month in Dubai to address the future of manufacturing and economic development in the Arab world. The 7th MIT Pan-Arab Conference: Manufacturing for Jobs, Growth and Diversification will be held at the Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi on January 19-20, 2013.
Regional and global leaders speaking at the 7th MIT Pan-Arab Conference include Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Saudi Arabia; Abdullatif Al-Othman, Governor, Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority; Ahmed Chami, Former Minister of Industry, Trade, and New Technologies, Morocco; Mohamed Al-Mady, Vice Chairman and CEO, SABIC; Jim McIlvenny, Senior Vice President, The Dow Chemical Company; John Rice, Vice Chairman, GE and President and CEO, GE Global Growth and Operations; Homoon Kang, Vice Chairman, Samsung Electronics; David Steel, Senior Vice President, Samsung Electronics; Motassim Al-Maashouq, Vice President, Saudi Aramco; Martin A. Schmidt, Associate Provost and Professor of Electrical Engineering, MIT; Joe Saddi, Chairman, Booz & Company; Amer Majali, Chief Commissioner, Development and Free Zones Commission, Jordan; Azzam Shalabi, President, National Industrial Clusters Development Program, Saudi Arabia; Ahmed Yahia Al-Idrissi, Executive Director, Mubadala Industry; Professor Fred Moavenzadeh, President, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology; Professor Stefan Catsicas, Provost and Executive Vice President, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology; Ziad Al-Labban, CEO, Sadara Chemical Company; Gassan Al Kibsi, Director, McKinsey and Company; Dr. Hani Shammah, Head of Private Equity, National Bank of Abu Dhabi; Nader H. Sultan, Senior Partner at F+N Consultancy and Former CEO, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation; Zuhair Allawi, President, Dow Saudi Arabia; Badr Al-Olama, CEO, Strata Manufacturing and Abdulrahman Al-Ubaid, Founder and Managing Director, Saudi Development and Innovation Group.
“The Conference will focus on the future of manufacturing and its potential in meeting two of the Arab world’s most pressing demands: job creation and economic diversification. The objective of the conference is to bring together leaders in technology, policy, industry, education and finance to discuss innovations and showcase solutions that have the potential to significantly impact today’s global manufacturing challenges,” Talal Kheir, President of the MIT AAA, said.
Topics addressed at the two-day conference will include institutional, regulatory, and macroeconomic issues pertaining to manufacturing; education, training and innovation in manufacturing and their impact on employment, entrepreneurship and investment opportunities; plus models for a globally competitive Arab manufacturing sector.
Conference delegates will include senior government and industry leaders from the Middle East, Europe, Asia and North America, MIT faculty, students and alumni, as well as regional business leaders and professionals.