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.
