World Economic Forum to return to Jordan in 2019 for top summit

This will be the 10th meeting in Jordan and 17th meeting in the region. The meeting will convene over 1,000 government, business and civil society leaders from more than 50 countries.King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein of Jordan and Prof Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, described the meeting as a unique opportunity to address the region’s most critical challenges.“The region stands at a crucial moment in its history – with an unprecedented opportunity for transformation, driven by its young populations and their embrace of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. But the promise can only be fulfilled if regional and international stakeholders step up their commitment to resolving the ongoing conflicts, which hold back the region’s standing in the world,” said Prof Schwab.With first results starting to emerge from social and economic reform efforts launched in several of the region’s economies, the meeting will be a key opportunity to collaborate on scaling up such efforts, with a focus on creating sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems, he added.

The forum will pay particular attention to women entrepreneurs and key intergenerational issues such as transparency, accountability and sustainability and the protection of the environment.In addition, the meeting will host dialogues with key decision-makers from the region, the United States, Europe and Asia on addressing geopolitical challenges, including in Syria and Libya.The World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa was last held in Jordan in 2017 in partnership with KAFD.