Optimism pervaded the World Economic Forum on the Middle East,
which brought together more than 1,200 participants from 56
countries in Jordan over the weekend.
The mood was one of optimism, urgency and a sense of
responsibility.
The participants trumpeted their belief that the Middle East is
undergoing a business-led transformation. They claimed that a new
Middle East - young, entrepreneurial and empowered - is taking
shape. The social fabric of the region is changing.
Oil wealth and an economic boom in some parts of the region such
as the Gulf states help build the confidence of the politicians and
business people in and outside the region. The gathering concluded
that the sanguine mood should be converted into investment in
people, particularly the region's youth.
How can the picture the participants painted for the Middle East
be so rosy when the region is still riven by seemingly intractable
conflicts?
The meeting took place against the backdrop of regional crises -
mounting conflicts in Iraq and Lebanon and the worsening
Palestinian-Israeli confrontation.
This part of the world is home to diversified and conflicting
opinions, religions and ethnic groups - Iranians and Israelis,
Sunnis and Shiites, radical religious figures and advocates of
secular government, political refugees and representatives of
regional political elites.
The Middle East has yet to achieve the kind of economic momentum
making development irreversible.
The forum embraced a wide range of issues from destinies of
young people and prospects for economic development to the
environment and resolution of regional problems.
Stability and prosperity are possible in the region only if all
the elements of regional diversity are in harmony rather than in
conflict.
It is necessary for the region to reduce its long-standing
over-dependence on oil revenues.
Historic enmities and blunt extremism must be defused for new
opportunities to take root.
In so doing, the region's potential will finally be
unlocked.
(China Daily May 24, 2007)
