From
Jan 26-30th 2005, Davos, Switzerland became host
to more than 500 chairmen and CEOs from the world's
leading companies, 20 heads of states, 26 religious
leaders, more than 50 leaders of non-governmental
organizations. All in all, more than 2000 influential
world leaders gathered to discuss and debate the
biggest challenges of the world.
Source: World Economic
Forum |
"A
planned approach to setting reforms must
be motivated by goals that satisfy the
basic needs of our societies. These include
an integration into the world economy
that preserves our cultural identity."
Mr.
Ahmed Mahmoud Nazif,
Prime Minister of Egypt
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Personalities
included Microsoft's Chairman Mr. Bill Gates;
President of Ukraine Mr. Victor A. Yushenko; CEO
of Nestlé SA, Mr. Peter Brabeck-Letmathe; Secretary-General,
Amnesty International Ms. Irene Khan; and even
musician Mr. Bono, representing his non-profit
organization DATA (Debt, AIDS and Trade in Africa).
How
China will change the world? How globalization
can be made more equitable? How corporations can
help alleviate poverty? How business outsourcing
can be best leveraged? How our environments deteriorating
situation be saved? How developing world can leverage
emerging business trends? --- These and many other
topics were discussed and debated.
Islam,
Middle East were key topics
There
were twelve tough issues identified to be address
at the meeting, and Islam and the Middle East
were two of them. Discussing and debating challenges
facing the Islamic world in reconciling modernization
with their Islamic identities were a new generation
of leaders from the Muslim world.
These
leaders included, Ms. Lubna S. Olayan, CEO, of
Saudi based Olayan Financing Company, Mr. Mohamed
A. Alabbar, Chairman, of Dubai based Emaar Properties,
Mr. Razali Abdul Rahman, Chairman of Malaysian,
Peremba Group of Companies, Mr. Mohamed L. Mansour,
President of Egypt's Mansour Group, and many more.
The
head of states from the OIC member countries included
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz of Pakistan, credited
for orchestrating Pakistan's economic turnaround;
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey,
who through continued economic reforms is ably
making a case for Turkey's EU membership; and
Prime Minister Ahmed Mahmoud Nazif of Egypt, who,
with the help his new 'dream team' cabinet, has
instituted unprecedented structural and fiscal
system rehaul.
"Modernization
without Westernization"
These
and other leaders from the Muslim world supported
the need for modernization without westernization.
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Shaukat
Aziz, Prime Minister of Pakistan; Najib Razak,
Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia; Ahmed Mahmoud
Nazif, Prime Minister of Egypt and Masoumeh
Ebtekar, Vice-President of the Islamic Republic
of Iran; Head, Department of the Environment,
Islamic Republic of Iran debate during the
session Modernization without Westernization
Source: World Economic Forum |
In
his special message, Prime Minister Nazif said,
"A planned approach to setting reforms must be
motivated by goals that satisfy the basic needs
of our societies. These include an integration
into the world economy that preserves our cultural
identity."
Prime
Minister Aziz said that "Islam encourages the
private sector," He referenced Prophet Mohammad
(pbuh) who himself was an entrepreneur. He also
said that, "Nobody has an exclusive on wisdom,"
giving the example of how the Pakistani government
when looking for the best micro-credit system
in the world, looked not to the West but to Bangladesh.
Najib
Razak, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, referencing
how Islam is misunderstood said, "We like to say
that we are fundamentalist; but that is a different
connotation in the west. Because the West uses
fundamentalism as equated to extremism. When we
say we are fundamentalist, we pray five times
a day for example. But in the same manner we reject
violence, we reject extremism, we are a very pluralistic
society, because that is what Islam is all about.
Islam protects other religions; Islam allows other
religions to exist, to co-exist with Islam. And
that is the practice in Malaysia."
Middle
East 2020: Island of Wealth and Opportunity
One
of the session at the meeting envisioned the Middle
East in year 2020 as a well-diversified economy
built through the wise investments of its current
oil and gas earnings. Regions business and government
leaders, and academic thinkers joined to discuss
the possibilities. To realize this dream, they
pointed to a continued need in economic reforms
such as privatization, strengthening of banking
practices, promoting trade liberalization, modernizing
customs administrations, and streamlining tariff
policies.
7
OIC based Companies Commit to Combat Corruption
and Bribery
The
World Economic Forum's Partnering Against Corruption
Initiative (PACI) announced at the Foundation's
Annual Meeting 2005 that 62 companies signed the
support statement to the Partnering Against Corruption
Principles for Countering Bribery (PACI Principles.)
The seven OIC country based companies include:
Fouad
Alghanim & Sons Group of Companies Kuwait
Hamza Alkholi Group Saudi Arabia
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation Kuwait
Lahoud Engineering Co. Ltd Lebanon
Pakistan State Oil Company Limited (PSO) Pakistan
Peremba Group of Companies Malaysia
PETRONAS (Petroliam Nasional Bhd) Malaysia
These
corporate leaders have committed to supporting
a zero-tolerance policy to fight corruption and
bribery. The PACI Principles are derived from
Transparency International's Business Principles
for Countering Bribery and call for two fundamental
actions: 1) a zero-tolerance policy towards bribery,
and 2) the development of a practical and effective
implementation programme.
To
get more information on Partnering Against Corruption
Initiative (PACI), Click
Here.
Learn
More:
Annual Meeting 2005 -
Webcasts
-
Session
Summaries
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