Layan Damanhouri
JEDDAH – Reimagining Saudi cities of the future was the theme of this year’s “Shaping Davos” forum ahead of the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting 2016.
As part of a series of 40 connected cities around the world, professionals and youth were invited to examine as well as discuss local problems followed by a brainstorming interactive session proposing global solutions at the forum hosted by the Global Shapers Jeddah Hub at the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) on Monday.
In a panel discussion moderated by chief strategy officer at Al Muhaidib Contracting Hisham Malaika, advisors and strategy experts from both the private and public sectors shared their insights on the most pressing issues the city of Jeddah faces, from sustainable infrastructure, economic resilience to social development.
If a reactive policy change is applied, Saudi Arabia has the potential to double GDP from $800 billion to $1600 billion by 2030 despite challenging conditions, according to Rafee Yusoff, an advisor-director to the President of the IDB and also former director of strategic planning.
Policies that promote economic diversification beyond the oil sector is needed, with the tourism sector ranking the most profitable followed by retail, mining and others.
During the breakout sessions to discuss strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for Saudi cities, ideas were voiced by groups of Saudi youth with backgrounds in business, healthcare, architecture, engineering, and law, among others. As Saudi cities are facing massive population growth, Global Shapers Hub curator Mounir Kabbara said many individuals were unanimous on the need for enhancing public transportation to cope with the rising infrastructure demands in Saudi Arabia. Although the city of Jeddah has plenty of construction in bridges and tunnels, he remarked, participants believed it was not as effective as building a public transport system.
Global Shaper and Equity Research analyst at NCB Capital Mohamed Tomalieh emphasized that the majority agreed on investment in resources to diversify the nonoil sector, where there is a mismatch between skills and market needs.
Many also believed, he added, that talent should not be distributed to economic cities as much, but rather to urban areas.
Individuals also opted for more openness to competition and greater openness to foreign investment and trade.
“All agreed that economic growth should be driven in nonoil sectors, specifically with support of SMEs,” he added.
On social development, finance student Lujain Al-Obaid said many believed volunteering opportunities and internships for high school and university students should be offered to support Saudization, the replacement of foreign workers with Saudi nationals in the workforce.
Factors that enhance the wellbeing of the citizen include the provision of multipurpose public spaces to foster creativity, empowering entrepreneurs, and creating more community centers for women and children.
“We need to question if the private sector is able to handle this pressure alone,” she said.
As an initiative of the World Economic Forum, the Global Shapers Community is a network of youth leaders contributing to society in various sectors, namely in business, education, technology, research, and more.
