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Regional Economic Freedom Conferences


Policy audit of Jordan, August 27, 2008

On August 27, the Young Entrepreneurs Association (YEA) of Jordan and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (office), in association with the Fraser Institute, held a policy audit of to determine how Economic Freedom can be increased in Jordan. It attracted top political, governmental, business, academic, and media leaders. The conference booklet, Jordan Audit Conference 2008: Increasing Economic Freedom in Jordan , published by the YEA, provides details.


Second Economic Freedom of the Arab World Conference
Mövenpick Hotel, Dead Sea, Jordan, November 22 to 23, 2007

Under the Royal Patronage of His Royal Highness King Abdullah II, policy makers, government officials, and business representatives from across the Middle East and around the world gathered at the Mövenpick Hotel on the Dead Sea, in Jordan in November 2007 to discuss how economic freedom can improve the lives of people living throughout the Arab world.

The two day conference was co-hosted by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation office in Jordan, the Young Entrepreneurs Association of Jordan, the International Research Foundation of Oman (IRF), and The Fraser Institute of Canada.

Her Excellency Suhair Al-Ali, Minister of Planning for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, delivered the keynote address, in which she discussed the necessity for and challenges of reforms in Jordan.

His Excellency Salem Khazaaleh, Minister of Industry & Trade for Jordan attended the conference as the King's representative.

Presentations on economic freedom and its benefits, entrepreneurship, globalization and income inequality, business regulation, and reforms in Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt followed. The conference concluded with a thought provoking session on security versus liberty. The US Patriot Act, emergency laws in the Middle East and Asia, and terrorism acts in the EU are all based on the assumption that liberty and security are mutually exclusive. That is, the assumption is that we have to give up liberty to gain security. The session focused on a few examples of security laws in the Arab world and how to model and empirically test this hypothesis.

The highlight of the conference was the gala dinner and awards ceremony. On November 22nd at the Mövenpick Hotel on the Dead Sea, Arab countries that have made the most progress in providing their citizens with economic freedom were honoured during an awards ceremony hosted by the International Research Foundation (IRF) from Oman in association with The Fraser Institute. The Economic Freedom of the Arab World awards were based on the Economic Freedom of the Arab World report which measures economic freedom in the Arab nations.

The awards ceremony celebrated the achievements of those Arab nations that have persisted in their efforts to implement reforms and increase the level of economic freedom in their nations. The ceremony was also a reminder to those nations not performing well in economic freedom that improvements are possible and that they can learn from the experience of their neighbours.

The top performers in each of the five sub-categories of economic freedom were:

  • Lebanon for the Lean Government award;
  • Saudi Arabia for the Economic and Commercial Law award;
  • Lebanon for the Access to Sound Money award;
  • Qatar for the Freedom to Trade award; and
  • Kuwait for the Ease of Doing Business award.

Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates received recognition for the "Top Achievement in Economic Freedom" for their accomplishments in the overall level of economic freedom.

Today more than ever, the world, including the Arab nations, needs policies that lead to economic prosperity and job creation. The first step toward improvement is an objective measurement of those policies that create wealth. The Economic Freedom of the Arab World does exactly that. Furthermore, the index allows countries to see how their policies differ from those of more prosperous countries, so countries can see for themselves why they rank where they do, and how their ranking can be improved.

It is our hope that nations in the region will use the report as a roadmap for further reforms. Those reforms could not only increase economic freedom in the nations in which they are implemented, but could also create the jobs and prosperity necessary to improve the lives of citizens.

Representatives from the four co-organizers-the International Research Foundation of Oman (IRF), the Friedrich Naumann Foundation office in Jordan, The Fraser Institute of Canada and the Young Entrepreneurs Association of Jordan-responding to questions during a press conference on November 21, 2007.
Mr. Azzan Al Busaidi, CEO, International Research Foundation, Oman, giving welcoming remarks.
Mr. Laith al Qasem, President of the Young Entrepreneurs Association of Jordan giving welcoming remarks.
Her Excellency Suhair Al-Ali, Minister of Planning, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, giving a key note speech on the "The Necessities and Challenges of Reforms" in Jordan.
A group photo with Her Excellency Suhair Al Ali, Minister of Planning & International Cooperation and His Excellency Salem Khazaaleh, Minister of Industry & Trade, Jordan.
Mr. Fred McMahon, Director, Centre for Globalization Studies, The Fraser Institute, Canada, responds to interview questions during one of the coffee breaks.
Mr. Fred McMahon, Director, Centre for Globalization Studies, The Fraser Institute, Canada, with the representatives of nations that received the "Top Achievement in Economic Freedom".
Mr. Fadi Haddadin of the Cato Institute in Washington DC, USA, Editor of Misbah Al Hurriyya, giving a presentation on "Modeling Liberty versus Security: The Way Forward."

Inaugural Economic Freedom of the Arab World Conference
Beirut, Lebanon 2006

The first regional economic freedom meeting in Beirut, Lebanon from December 6-7, 2006 attracted about 50 participants from the Middle East and the rest of the world.

The conference focused on improvement of economic policy in the Arab World as well as reconstruction in Lebanon. Issues such as economic freedom, investment in the Middle East (including Islamic equity investment in the region), public-private partnerships in infrastructure financing, and access to credit and enterprise financing facilities were covered at the conference.

Despite the political situation in Beirut, we (with strong encouragement from our co-hosts and contacts in the region) decided to go ahead with the meeting. The most optimistic assessments of the situation proved correct and the conference turned out to be a success.

We would like to thank our co-hosts--International Research Foundation (IRF) of Oman, Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Jordan, and MENA-OECD Investment Programme--without whom this conference would not be possible. Special thanks goes to Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Jordan who was also our sponsor.

We are immensely grateful to those conference participants who, despite the situation in Beirut at the time of the meeting, decided to attend the meeting and participate in this first regional gathering.

On the afternoon of December 7, the IRF hosted the second Economic Freedom of the Arab World Awards, based on the Economic Freedom of the Arab World report. Awards were presented to those Arab countries which have highest levels of economic freedom.

Conference participants listen to one of the opening presentations.
Panel on Access to Credit and Enterprise Financing Facilities takes questions from the conference participants. From left to right: Ms. Dolly Hatem (Head of Small Business Loans & Kafalat Units at Byblos Bank Sal, Lebanon), Dr. Khater Abi Habib (Chairman Kafalat Corporation, Lebanon), Mr. Nassib Ghobril (Head of Research, Byblos Bank Group, Lebanon), and Dr. Wissam Fahed (Ministry of Finance, Lebanon).
Dr. Michael Walker, President, Fraser Institute Foundation and Senior Fellow at The Fraser Institute, Canada, presents an Omani representative with an Economic Freedom Award.
Representatives from Lebanon, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait, whose governments received awards in different economic freedom categories, gather for a group photo at the Economic Freedom of the Arab World Award ceremony.

 

 

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