Economic Diversification in the Gulf States Opportunities and Challenges

ACRPS

Panel on The Need for Economic Diversification and the Role of the Human Factor

ACRPS

Asrar Hayat

ACRPS

Ann Al-Kindi

ACRPS

Auhoud AlBaloushi

ACRPS

Khalid Rashid Al-Khater

ACRPS

Q&A-session

ACRPS

Panel on Economic Diversification in the Gulf and the Role of Industry and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

ACRPS

Moudi Al-Homoud

ACRPS

Bashar Soboh

ACRPS

Yousuf Al Balushi

ACRPS

Canan Atilgan

ACRPS

Fabian Blumberg

ACRPS

Input by Rabah Arezki

In its five sessions, in addition to two public lectures, the conference sought to discuss a set of questions such as: What are the problems associated with financial policies in the Gulf countries? And how can they be overcome to diversify their economies? Should Gulf countries invest more in the industrial sector or the services sector, or both? Is there a model that the Gulf countries should follow to achieve economic diversification? What is the role of the private sector in achieving economic diversification in the Gulf countries? How can foreign direct investment be attracted to the Gulf countries?

The conference began with opening remarks by Dr. Hamid Ali, the Dean of the School of Public Administration and Development Economics at the Doha Institute; Dr. Canan Atilgan, Head of the Middle East and North Africa Department at Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), and Dr. Haider Saeed, Head of the Research Department at the Arab Center, who welcomed the participant speakers and attendees, and emphasized the importance of economic diversification for the Gulf States.

Fourteen researchers from Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Germany presented papers in the conference’s five sessions. The booklet of the conference (in English and Arabic), which includes the program, the biographies and abstracts of the participants’ papers is in the PDF file at the right side.

At the end of the conference, Fabian Blumberg, the Regional Representative to the Gulf States at KAS and Haider Saeed, Head of the Research Department at the Arab Center thanked the speakers and audience for their participation and promised to hold further workshops and conferences on the subject.