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World Economic Forum Seeks Ways to Harness Technology for Regional Development

One of the World Economic Forum MENA sessions
One of the World Economic Forum MENA sessions
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World Economic Forum Seeks Ways to Harness Technology for Regional Development

One of the World Economic Forum MENA sessions
One of the World Economic Forum MENA sessions

Participants of the World Economic Forum for the Middle East and North Africa discussed ways of exploiting and harnessing the Fourth Industrial Revolution to serve the region and support the countries in facing new technological challenges.

The two-day forum held in Jordan, under the theme “Building New Platforms of Cooperation” included the participation of 1,000 personalities and concluded with the emphasis of the importance of joint action to promote the region.

Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab warned that the Middle East simply cannot afford to be left behind, asserting that those countries that absorb the potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution first will be the most competitive countries.

“We have to make sure that countries and regions are not lagging behind.”

World’s first Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, UAE's Omar bin Sultan al-Olama indicated that not one country is going to lead in the Revolution.

“There are going to be hubs of excellence across the world and each hub is going to champion one or two domains – and we want to champion the domain of government, first and foremost.”

Also at the event, Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board Khalid al-Rumaihi indicated that we “have to manage risk but we have to not ignore opportunity.”

Rumaihi asserted that the Middle East needs to create job opportunities, and some countries were already moving to embrace the new technological future.

Bahrain was recently selected as the site of new Amazon data centers after passing a law allowing data stored there by foreign companies to be governed by laws of their home country.

The Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Careem, Mudassir Sheikha, said: “I view the Fourth Industrial Revolution as our opportunity to catch up, as our opportunity to leapfrog and actually get to parity with the rest of the world."

The regional centers established in countries including the UAE and Saudi Arabia will seek solutions that meet the needs and priorities of residents, managing director and head of the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Global Network, World Economic Forum Murat Sonmez told Asharq al-Awsat.

Sonmez reported that the Forum has established centers in China, India and Japan, and with increasing demand, it launched a model allowing countries that joined the network to host the center and oversee employment while sharing knowledge.

Two centers were recently launched in the UAE and Colombia, and another in Saudi Arabia which was announced during the Davos Forum.

While recognizing the new technologies as a challenge for all, Sonmez praised the determination of regional countries, particularly Bahrain, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia to take advantage of the opportunities presented.

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Honda and Nissan Start Merger Talks in Historic Pivot

Makoto Uchida, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation, Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President and Representative Executive Officer of Honda and Takao Kato, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President & CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, attend a joint press conference on their merger talks, in Tokyo, Japan, December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Makoto Uchida, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation, Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President and Representative Executive Officer of Honda and Takao Kato, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President & CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, attend a joint press conference on their merger talks, in Tokyo, Japan, December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
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Honda and Nissan Start Merger Talks in Historic Pivot

Makoto Uchida, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation, Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President and Representative Executive Officer of Honda and Takao Kato, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President & CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, attend a joint press conference on their merger talks, in Tokyo, Japan, December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Makoto Uchida, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation, Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President and Representative Executive Officer of Honda and Takao Kato, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President & CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, attend a joint press conference on their merger talks, in Tokyo, Japan, December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Honda and Nissan have started talks toward a potential merger, they said on Monday, a historic pivot for Japan's auto industry that underlines the threat Chinese EV makers now pose to some of the world's best known car makers, Reuters said.
The integration would create the world's third-largest auto group by vehicle sales after Toyota and Volkswagen. It would also give the two companies scale and a chance to share resources in the face of intense competition from Tesla and more nimble Chinese rivals, such as BYD.
The merger of the two storied Japanese brands - Honda is Japan's second-largest automaker and Nissan its no. 3 - would mark the biggest reshaping in the global auto industry since Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA merged in 2021 to create Stellantis in a $52 billion deal.
Smaller Mitsubishi Motors, in which Nissan is top shareholder, was also considering joining, the companies said. The chief executives of all three companies held a joint press conference in Tokyo.
"The rise of Chinese automakers and new players has changed the car industry quite a lot," Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe told the press conference.
"We have to build up capabilities to fight with them by 2030, otherwise we'll be beaten," he said.
The two companies would aim for combined sales of 30 trillion yen ($191 billion) and operating profit of more than 3 trillion yen through the potential merger, they said.
They aimed to wrap up talks around June 2025 and then set up a holding company by August 2026, at which time both companies' shares would be delisted.
Honda has a market capitalisation of more than $40 billion, while Nissan is valued at about $10 billion.
Honda will appoint the majority of the holding company's board, it said.
Combining with Mitsubishi Motors would take the Japanese group's global sales to more than 8 million cars. The current No. 3 group is South Korea's Hyundai and Kia .
Honda and Nissan have been exploring ways to bolster their partnership, including a merger, Reuters reported last week.
The two companies said in March they were considering cooperation on electrification and software development. They agreed to conduct joint research and widened the collaboration to Mitsubishi Motors in August.
Last month, Nissan announced a plan to cut 9,000 jobs and 20% of its global production capacity after sales plunged in the key China and U.S. markets. Honda also reported worse-than-expected earnings due to declining sales in China.
Like other foreign carmakers, Honda and Nissan have lost ground in the world's biggest market China to BYD and other local brands that make electric and hybrid cars loaded with innovative software.
In a separate online press conference with the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan on Monday, former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn said he did not believe the Honda-Nissan alliance would be successful, saying the two automakers were not complementary.
Ghosn is wanted as a fugitive in Japan for jumping bail and fleeing to Lebanon. His 2018 arrest for financial wrongdoing pitched Nissan into a crisis.
French automaker Renault, Nissan's largest shareholder, is open in principle to a deal and would examine all the implications of a tie-up, sources have said.
Taiwan's Foxconn, seeking to expand its nascent EV contract manufacturing business, approached Nissan about a bid but the Japanese company rejected it, sources have told Reuters.
Foxconn decided to pause the approach after it sent a delegation to meet with Renault in France, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.
Shares in Honda ended the day up 3.8%, Nissan rose 1.6% and Mitsubishi Motors gained 5.3% after the news reports on the details of the planned merger, while the benchmark Nikkei closed up 1.2%.