(MENAFN- Jordan News Agency) The World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa 2015 concluded on Saturday after three days of extensive debates and meetings which saw the signing of a number of projects. Chairman and Founder, Professor Klaus Schwab thanked Jordan for organizing the high-profile event for ninth time.
Following is the full text of the final statement of the forum as read by Miroslav Dusek, Director and Head of Middle East and North Africa at the World Economic Forum: "After three days of intensive private and public meetings, sessions and workshops, we reassemble to ask: o What have we learned during these past few days? o Where do we stand today? o And what are the key ideas and insights that we will take forward? We met against the backdrop of a number of deep political, economic and societal transformations, which this region has witnessed over the past 4 years. In the midst of all this turmoil, the different peoples of the MENA continue to struggle to find an answer against the multiple challenges facing this region, especially the continuous demands of its young women and men for dignity and economic inclusion.
We convened here under the theme "Creating a Regional Framework for Prosperity and Peace through Public-Private Cooperation". We did so because collaboration between the different stakeholders of society is imperative if we want to build effective responses to the manifold challenges facing this region, particularly the threats arising from radicalization and violent extremism. It is a message that has been continuously emphasized by our Chairman and Founder, Professor Klaus Schwab, and which underlines the efforts of the World Economic Forum since its foundation in 1971.
Addressing these issues was one of the key components of this meeting. We did so not only through our special programme on "Countering Violent Extremism", but also by addressing the manifold issues that are the causes, the amplifiers and symptoms of violent extremism, such as the political and socio-economic conditions of Arab citizens, the role of social media, and the tragedy suffered by millions refugees and internally displaced people. We are proud to see today such a solid commitment from you, leaders of civil society organizations, the business community, government, academia and the media, to stem the tide of radicalization in this region and globally.
There are other signs for optimism too, as the many initiatives and commitments taken during these three days have shown.
o First, the Regional Business Council, our community of the most eminent business leaders in the Arab world, has pledged to further drive the New Vision for Arab Employment Initiative, committing itself to create 100,000 jobs by 2017; o Second,nine of our strategic and regional partners have pledged to introduce incremental corporate initiatives for skills development, fostering entrepreneurship and connecting talent to markets, to meet nearly 50% of the target.
o Finally, business leaders from Israel and Palestine have committed themselves to continue their quest for proposing civil society-led initiatives to the conflict in the framework of the Breaking the Impasse Initiative and present a united front against conflict in the Middle East Besides these milestones, we also touched on the imperative of infrastructure financing and development as a vital priority for this region, in order to forge the regional economic cohesion that is needed to create the jobs for the region's young people.
On Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen, leaders who were present here at the Dead Sea confirmed their commitment and responsibility to address the precarious situation there, both in terms of the national security of these countries, as well as in terms of the human security of its citizens.
Last but not least, we came to the shared conclusion that despite all the massive challenges faced by this region, there is also a great momentum for economic, political and social reform in many countries, particularly in Jordan. In this context, we are particularly proud that His Majesty King Abdullah, has taken the opportunity of this summit to announce the launch of projects worth $6.9 billion, including agreements worth $2.5 billion signed on sidelines of the summit.
Jordan's vision and leadership can serve as an example or the entire region to create new growth and development in order to safeguard the promise of the young generation. Over the coming years, we at the World Economic Forum will continue to work steadfastly in order to drive these initiatives and projects forward, and we look forward to the involvement of all of you.
After the Dead See, see you next year on the Red Sea in Sharm el-Sheikh.
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