4th WIEF – KUWAIT CITY
The fourth World Islamic Economic Forum entitled “Islamic Countries: Partners in Global Development” was held in Kuwait on the 28th April – 1st May 2008 and was attended by more than 700 participants from all across the globe, particularly from the Gulf States.
Among the leaders who attended the Forum were the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Prime Minister of Kuwait, Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohamad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Ruler of Jordan, King Abdullah II, President of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, President of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Haris Silajdži, Prime Minister of Bahrain, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of Cote D’Ivoire, Guillame Kigbafori Soro, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Kazakhstan, Souat Mynbayev and President of the Islamic Development Bank, Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Ali.
The 4th Forum focused on the theme of Islamic countries as true players of global development on the Muslim world as a burgeoning market, the role of energy in a changing world, the role of investment in poverty reduction, the private sector role in development, and the role of education.
Download the forum report here.
Session Topics:
- Leadership Panel: Islamic Countries in a Competitive World
- SMEs
- Telecommunications, Transport & Logistics
- Infrastructure & Real Estate Development
- Tourism & Travel
- The Muslim World As a Burgeoning Market
- The Future of Energy in Changing World
- Economic Partnership between The Gulf Cooperation Council Countries & The Muslim World
- The Role of Investment in Poverty Reduction
- Education & Development in the Islamic World
- The Private Sector Role in Development
WIEF Businesswomen Forum 2008
“Capacity Building & Synergistic Linkages – The Way to Success”
Session Topics:
- Challenges Faced by Women Entrepreneurs
- Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship
- New Essence of Business
- Nurturing Linkages and Creating Synergies
WIEF Young Leaders Forum 2008
“Developing the Future Generation of Leaders”
Session Topics:
- Facilitating Youth Development: The Role of Local Initiatives
- Encouraging Mentorship Programmes: Developing Young Leaders
- Money Matters: Financing SME Businesses
- H.E. Dr. Sheikha Hissah Saad Abdulah Al-Salim Al-Sabah
Chairman, WIEF Orgazing Committee, Kuwait - Dato Dr. Norraesah Mohamad
Chairman, WIEF Businesswomen Network, Malaysia - Azza Fahmy
Chairman/Owner, AFJ Group of Companies, Egypt - Mrs. Raja Easa Al-Gurg
Chairperson, Council of UAE Businesswomen & Managing Director, Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group, UAE - Mrs. Madawy Al-Hassoun
Member of the Board of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Saudi Arabia - Sheikha Hanadi Nasser Bin Khaled Al-Thani
Founder & Chairperson, Amwal, Qatar - Mrs. Fawzia Mubarak Al-Hassawi
Director- Business Development, Al-Hassawi Group of Companies, Kuwait - Mrs. Fadzilah Ahmad Din
Director of Enterprise Development & Enterpreneurship Division, Small & Medium Industries Development Corporation, Malaysia - Ms. Baria Alamuddin
Editor, Media Services Syndicate&Foreign Editor, Al Hayat, United Kingdom - Mrs. Sahar Al-Sallab
Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Commercial International Bank, Egypt - Mrs, Maha Al-Ghounaim
Vice Executive Chef, Global Investment, Kuwait - Mrs. Elham Hassan
The country Senior Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers Bahrain, Bahrain - Prof. Elizabeth Engellau
Programme Director, Global Leadership & Adjunct Clinical Professor, Insead, France - Ms. Rokia A Rahman
Chairman, Women’s Enterpreneurs Association & Chairperson, Arlinks Limited, Bangladesh - Mrs. Abeda Almahdi
Managing Director, UNICONS Consultancy Ltd., Sudan - Eng. Manar Al-Hashash
Member of High-Level Panel of Advisers of Gaid – United Nations & Board member of World Summit Award, Kuwait - Mrs. Sanaa Hamad Al-Awad
Sudan - Ms. Parvin Ali
CEO & Founder, FATIMA Women’s Network, United Kingdom - Mrs. Begum Salma Ahmed
Founder President & CEO, Women’s Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Pakistan - Ms. Hanaa Al-Hilaly
Director General, International Cabinet of Ministers, Social Fund for Development, Egypt - Ms. Livia Samaestri
President, Internationa Business & Professional Women Union, Switzerland - Ms. Douja Gharbi
President&Founder, Forge de la Louve, Tunisia - Ms. Fadhela Al-Khan
Head, Project Finance Department & Remedial Department, Bahrain Development Bank, Bahrain - Mdm. Olive Zaitun Kigongo
President, Uganda National Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Uganda - Jamal Ahmad Al-Shinab
Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Kuwait - Dato’ Nazir Razak
Chairman, WIEF Young Leaders Network - Mikhail Islam
Executive Director, Chittagong Skills Development Centre (CSDC) - Sir Iqbal Sacranie
International Advisory Panel member, WIEF Foundation - Saleh Al-Ateeqi
McKinsey&Company, Inc. International - Hesham A. Tashkandi
General Manager, The Centennial Fund - Mahmoud Atalla
Head of the Mosaic Programme, The Prince’s Trust - Anas J Meerza
Assistant Vice President, Investment Technology Enterpreneurship Centre - Khalid Al Zanki
Young Arab Leaders, Kuwait - Rana Kamshad
Injaz, Kuwait - Hassan Mohammad Al-Qunai
General Manager, KSPDC Kuwait, Kuwait - Tengku Zafrul Aziz
CEO, Tune Money - Dr. Fathi Osman
Professor , Public Authority for Applied Education and Training, Kuwait - Jasem Al-Ammar
Industrial Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait - H.E. Faisal Mohammad Al-Hajji Bukhadhour
Deputy Prime Minister of Kuwait - H.H. Sheikh Al Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
The Emir of the State of Kuwait, Kuwait - H.M. King Abdullah II
the Hashemite of Jordan - H.E. Abdoulaye Wade
President of Senegal and Chairman of OIC - H.E. Hamid Karzai
President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan - H.E. Dr. Haris Silajdzic
President of Bosnia and Herzegovina Republic - The Hon. Tun Musa Hitam
Chairman, WIEF Foundation, Malaysia - H.H. Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah
Prime Minister of the State of Kuwait - H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa
Prime Minister of Kingdom of Bahrain - H.E. Guillaume Kigbafori Soro
Prime Minister of the Republic of Cote D’Ivoire - Dato’ Ikmal Hijaz Hashim
Managing Director, Iskandar Development Region Authority, Malaysia - Mr. Khaled Abdullah Al-Ghanim
CEO Touristic Enterprises Company, Kuwait Global, Kuwait - Mr. Richard Shediac
Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton, Middle East - H.E. Nan Sy
Ambassador of Kingdom Cambodia to Brunei Darussalam - Mr. Muniruddeen Lallmahamood
Director ,Global Management&Business Consulting Ltd, Mauritus - Mr. Ali Mohammed Thunayan Al-Ghanem
Chairman, Kuwait Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Kuwait - Mr. Tony Blair
Former Prime Minister, United Kingdom - Mr. Toyoo Gyohten
President, Institute for International Monetary Affairs, Japan - H.E. Dr. Mohammad Al-Tuwaijiri
Assistant Secretary General for Economic Affairs, The league of Arab States - Dr. Izzat Dajani
Head Key & Priority Clients, Goldman Sachs International & former MD Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority - Mr. Kairbek Uskenbayev
Vice Minister for Tourism and Sports, Kazakhstan - H.E. Mohammed Abdullah Al-Aleem
Minister of Electricity&Water, and Acting Minister of Oil, Kuwait - Mr. Nader Hamad Al-Sultan
Senior Partner, F&N Consultancy Company - Mr. Vadim Zverkov C
hairman of the Board ,JSC “National company “Social-Enterpreneurship Corporation “Saryarka”, Kazakhstan - Mr. Jamal Al-Nouri
Planning Managing Director ,Kuwait Petroleum Cooperation, Kuwait - H.E. Mustafa Jasim Al-Shamali
Minister of Finance, Kuwait - Mr. Abdullah Bishara
Former Secretary General, The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf - Dr. Jassim Al-Mannai
Director General & Chairman of the Board, Arab Monetary Fund - Mr. Youssef A Nasr
CEO, HSBC Bank Middle East Ltd - Mr. Abdul Latif Y. Al-Hamad
Director General&Chairman of the Board, Arab Fund for Economic & Social Development - Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar
Managing Director, Khazanah Nasional, Malaysia - H.E. Sofyan Djalil
State Minister of State Enterprises, Indonesia - H.E. Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Sabah Al-salem Al-Sabah
Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kuwait - Dato’ Timothy Ong
Chairman, Bruinei Economic Development Board, Brunei - Dr. Amado Baubakr Cisse
Vice President-Operations, Islamic Development Bank - Mr. Bob Hawke
Former Prime Minister, Australia - H.E. Noureya Sabeeh Al-Sabeeh
Minister of Education & Higher Education, Kuwait - Dr. Abdel Moneim M. Osman
Director UNESCO Regional Bureu for Education in the Arab States & UNESCO representative to Lebanon & Syria - Dr. Hasan Ali Al-Ebraheem
President, Kuwait Society for the Advancement of Arab Children, Kuwait - Tan Sri dato’ Dr. Wan Mohd Zahid Mohd Noordin
Chairman, University Technology MARA & Chairman, WIEF Education Trust, Malaysia - Dr. Farhan Nizami
Director ,Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, United Kingdom - Mr. Ian Buchanan
Senior Advisor, Booz Allen Hamilton, Australia - Mr. Tarek Abdulaziz Al-Sultan
Chairman, Agility, Kuwait - Mr. Adnan Abdulaziz Al-Bahar
Chairman & Managing Director the International Investor, Kuwait - Mrs. Olive Zaitun Kigongo
Chairman, Uganda Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Uganda - Mr. Mohammed Rasheed Kashesh
Minister of Finance, Tunisia - The Hon. Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Former Prime Minister, Malaysia - H.E. Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Ali
President, Islamic Development Bank - H.E. Souat Mynbayev
Minister of Energy & Mineral Resources Kazakhstan - Dr. Atef Obaid
Former Prime Minister, Egypt - Mr. Tariq Sayeed
President, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) - Mr. Tanri Abeng
Chairman & Founder, Executive Centre for Global Leadership - Eng. Abdulrahman Khaled Al-Ghunaim
Former Telecommunication Minister, Kuwait - Mr. Bahjat El-Darwiche
Principal, Booz Allen Hamilton, Middle East - Mr. Salahuddin Kasem Khan
Chairman, Aktel Bangladesh, Bangladesh - Eng. Saeed Dashti
Chairman & MD, KGL, Kuwait - Mr. Mohd Anwar Yahya
Senior Executive Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers Malaysia, Malaysia
DECLARATION OF 4TH WORLD ISLAMIC ECONOMIC FORUM
We, the Delegates gathered together for the 4th World Islamic Economic (WIEF) with the theme “Islamic Countries: Partners in Global Development” in Kuwait City, the State of Kuwait from 28th April to 1st May 2008.
APPRECIATING the support encouragement and wise counsel of HH Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah the Amir of the State of Kuwait, HH Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah the Crown Prince of the State of Kuwait and HH Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah , the Prince Minister of the State of Kuwait;
RECORDING our appreciate to HM King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, H.E Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal and Chairman of OIC, H.E Hamid Karzai,President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,H.E dr Haris Silajdzic,President of Bosnia and Herzegovina Republic, H.H Sheikh Khalia bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain, H.E Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Prime Minister of Malaysia and Patron of the WIEF Foundation, H.E Nader Dahabi, Prime Minister of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, H.E Guillame Kigbafori Soro, Prime Minister of the Republic of Cote D’lvoire, H.E Irman Gusman, Vice Chairman of the House of Regional Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia, representing H.E President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, H.E Souot Mynabayev, Minister of Energy & Mineral Resources of Kazakhstan, representing H.E President Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev as well as former Prime Minister Prof. Atif Obaid of Egypt, Mr Tony Blair of Britain and Mr Bob Hawke of Australia and H.E Dr Ahmed Mohamed Ali, President of the Islamic Development Bank for their invaluable contributions ;
ACKNOWLEDGING the gracious hospitality of the Government of the State of Kuwait in hosting and ensuring the success of the 4th WIEF; APPLAUDING the generous commitment of S100 Million by H.H Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and the Government and People of the State of Kuwait for the establishment of a food security fund to assist the poorest within the Muslim Ummah alleviate their hunger and build their capacity to achieve sustainable long term food security by investing in the production, storage and distribution of basic foodstuffs; APPRECIATING the presence and contribution of all Forum participants as well as their harmony and cultural diversity;
AFFIRMING our belief that the spirit and objectives of the World Islamic Economic Forum remain the effective promotion of sustainable economic development, growth and prosperity of the Muslim Ummah by fostering cross-border business linkages and public-private partnerships and alliances both within the Muslim business community and with the rest of the world;
HEREBY TAKE NOTE of the wise guidance from the participating Leaders:
- VISION: The need for a Shared Vision of ‘Hope Tolerance and Mutual Respect’ in which the whole of the Muslim Ummah will work to ‘seize the opportunity’ to create a ‘fair economic partnership’ between richer and poorer communities to eradicate poverty, hunger and illiteracy’;
- HARMONISATION : The importance of ‘unlocking the unmet potential’ of our markets by working together to ‘harmonise business, trade and investment regulation and practices;
- EDUCATION : Achieving our rightful place within the Global economy will depend ‘not only on our natural resources but also on our human resources’. Today’s ‘Knowledge Economy’ requires a shared commitment to unlock the full potential of all our people by investing in education from pre-school to post graduate-including ‘practical scientific education’. The ‘education and empowerment of women’. And creating conditions which will attract. motivate and retain our best brightest student;
- STABILITY : Promote a secure ,stable and safe environment for business investment ;
- ENVIROMENT : Working with others to better use existing energy resources and to contribute to the development of more sustainable and environmentally friendly new energy sources;
- VALUES : Demonstrate in everything we say and do our Islamic values and work together to promote integrity and good governance;
CONFIRM our continued support for and commitment to the success of WIEF projects:- The WIFE-UiTM ‘ International Centre and its training, education and R&D programmes, including the proposed WIEF-UiTM-IDB technical and vocational courses for disadvantaged communities to be launched initially in The Gambia.
- The WIEF Young Leaders Network in their ongoing ‘Groom-a-Leader internship and scholarship programs and the ‘Lets-plug-in-Education rural e-learning program as well as the newly initiated Cross-border Mentorship program to encourage the participation of youth in business activities and to develop and motivate future Muslim business leaders :
- The WIEF Businesswomen’s Network and congratulate them on the success of their expanding nurses Training Program and on their efforts to empower and engage women fully in the development process by igniting their entrepreneurial spirit through example and the establishment of a ‘Training Centre for Women Entrepreneurs:
1. UiTM – Universiti Teknologi Mara & 2. IDB – Islamic Development Bank
FURTHER AGREED TO :
- Support the efforts of the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry to enhance linkages between the Chambers of Commerce and industry in the OIC countries with their counterparts in the non Muslim world :
- Support the initiatives of the Kuwait Banking Association proposed at its Inaugural Forum for the development of Islamic Banking and Takaful Insurance in both Muslim and Non Muslim countries:
RECOGNISE the importance of public-private dialogue and partnering to realize these aspirations and call upon the government of the OIC countries and the Muslim Ummah to work with their private sectors to ensure the successful implementation of the practical ideas and programs identified during the Forum and to develop specific projects strengthening the vibrant SME sector.
THANK the Malaysian Government for its generous grant for the establishment of a permanent WIEF Secretariat as well as our strategic partners, sponsors, corporate members and role players for their continued support of the WIEF;
ACCEPT the gracious offer of H.E Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the President of the Republic of Indonesia, to host the 5th World Islamic Economic Forum in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2009.
FINALLY, in closing this, the 4th World Islamic Economic Forum, we call on the Forum’s Chairman to submit this Declaration to the Chairman and the Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Conference.
ADOPTED by the Delegates in the Kuwait City, the State of Kuwait on 1st May 2008.