Monday, May 27, 2013

BREAKING THE IMPASSE IN THE MIDEAST-WORLD ECONOMIC SUMMIT 2013

Breaking the impasse in the Middle East

By: Klaus Schwab

The situation in the Middle East is grave. War in Syria threatens to drag the region into prolonged conflict. Sectarian strife is tearing countries and communities apart. Fully 85 million – some 30% – of Middle Eastern youth are in need of a job that will enable them to build themselves and their families a future.And in the middle of the region, peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority have been at an impasse for over a decade. Efforts from all sides have been challenged here.Where will the optimism come from?
There remains one powerful motivating force: the yearning of the majority of people on both sides for a durable solution. Beyond national, religious and political concerns, a fundamental human driver is the need for peace and stability, the ability to provide for ourselves and our families, to fulfil our potential and build something for our futures. That is why a group of hundreds of energetic and motivated businesspeople from both Israel and the Palestinian territories have come together to push political leaders back to the negotiating table.The Breaking the Impasse (BTI) initiative, nurtured and supported by the World Economic Forum, is not a political movement. It is the manifestation of a sincere yearning for a durable two-state solution from the business leaders of Israel and the Palestinian territories. These leaders recognize that resolution of the conflict is the single most important means to create jobs and generate growth and prosperity throughout the greater Middle East.They also recognize that making a durable two-state solution a reality is beyond their remit. The leaders of the BTI, Yossi Vardi and Munib Masri, have brought together their compatriots and colleagues in an active show of support for their political leaders, to emphasize to them that “the silent majority will no longer be silent”.By providing a platform for this initiative, the World Economic Forum hopes to help amplify the voices of those who want to encourage political compromise and the development of a political settlement that all sides will stick by.The majority on both sides of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict yearn for peace and prosperity, and the BTI provides a focus for this energy. In the end, peace will bring with it stability, growth and enterprise, together with new hopes, expectations and occupations for current and future generations, sorely needed in these two countries and in the region beyond.Main image: Participants at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa 2013. Benedikt von Loebell
KSCAuthor: Professor Klaus Schwab is Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. 
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News Release

Kerry Announces US$4 Billion Economic Plan to Break Israeli-Palestinian Impasse

Dead Sea, Jordan, 26 May 2013 – John Kerry, US Secretary of State, in a passionate speech at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa, announced plans for a US$ 4 billion economic programme designed to kickstart the Palestinian economy and provide the basis for sustainable peace. “It is time to put in place a new model of development … that is bigger and bolder than anything proposed since the Oslo Accord (10 September, 1993),” he said.The plan, put together by a group of international regional experts, would increase Palestine’s GDP by 50% and cut unemployment from 21% of the workforce to 8% in just three years. Kerry said that US$ 4 billion dollars can make an enormous difference in a relatively small area with a population of just 4 million. “The intention is not just to make it transformative, but to make it different from anything ever seen before,” he added.Shimon Peres, President of Israel, said: “We and our Palestinian neighbours must return to negotiations as soon as possible and bring peace. Let us cast away the divides and suspicions of the past and focus on a future of harmony.”Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian National Authority, said: “We all have the chance to be on the right side of history. We must take a collective stand against the status quo. If we don’t seize this opportunity, we will fall into the abyss of conflict.”Kerry’s plan supports the initiative to break the impasse in the peace process announced at the Dead Sea meeting by a group of more than 200 Israeli and Palestinian business people. The goal is to leverage their collective business experience and influence to convince leaders to begin serious negotiations.“This forum has provided a platform for a creative initiative to support efforts to relaunch Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. Your engagement can help to break the impasse. Let us help the parties get on with it,” said H.M. King Abdullah Ibn Al Hussein, King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Commenting on the plan, Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, said breaking the impasse is a necessity and work must begin immediately. “The initiative is not an alternative to the political process, but it serves to underline the urgent need for action.”More than 900 participants from over 50 countries are taking part in the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa. The three-day meeting, convening under the theme Advancing Conditions for Growth and Resilience, will focus on shaping the region’s economic, social and governance systems of the future. The Co-Chairs of the meeting are Mohammed H. Al Mady, Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), Saudi Arabia; Samer S. Khoury, President Engineering and Construction, Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC), Greece; Ibrahim S. Dabdoub, Group Chief Executive Officer, National Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait; Jin-Yong Cai, Executive Vice-President and Chief Executive Officer, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Washington DC; Martin Senn, Group Chief Executive Officer Zurich Insurance Group, Switzerland; and Mina Al Oraibi, Assistant Editor-in-Chief, Asharq Al-Awsat Newspaper, United Kingdom.

Notes to Editors
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News Release

Israeli and Palestinian Business Leaders Urge Two-State Solution

Rim El Habibi, Media Associate, Media Relations,Tel.: +962 778426166; E-mail: Rim.Elhabibi@weforum.org
  • Nearly 200 Israeli and Palestinian business leaders join to form the Breaking the Impasse Initiative
  • Private sector representatives vow to use their economic clout to encourage political progress
  • Resolution of the conflict is the single most important factor to create jobs, generate growth and prosperity throughout the greater Middle East
  • More information about the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa is available at http://wef.ch/mena13
Dead Sea, Jordan, 26 May 2013 - Nearly 200 leading Israeli and Palestinian business people and executives of some of the largest companies called today for their respective governments to urgently move towards a two-state solution to end the conflict between their two peoples.Members of the Breaking the Impasse Initiative (BTI), meeting at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa at the Dead Sea, Jordan, said they would leverage their collective business experience and influence to convince leaders on both sides to begin serious negotiations with the goal of reaching a peace agreement.The group called on the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships, with the active support and encouragement of the international community, to take urgent action to renew the political process in order to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In its call to action, the BTI said: “The current situation endangers the economy and the social fabric of both nations, and may render the two-state solution unattainable.” The BTI also stated: “Therefore, we call on the political leaders to move forward with boldness, courage and a sense of historic mission – to provide a comprehensive vision necessary to resolving all the final-status issues, ending all claims and securing peaceful and good neighbourly relations between the two states.”The Initiative was launched jointly by Munib R.Masri, Chairman, PADICO Holding, and Yossi Vardi, Chairman, International Technologies Ventures, in May 2012, and has been facilitated by the World Economic Forum. Already, it counts among its members 200 leading Israeli and Palestinian business people, including executives of some of the largest companies and employers on both sides.Among the Israeli members are: Yehuda Bronicki; Mooly Eden, President, Intel Israel; Shlomi Fogel, Chairman, Ampa Investments; Yadin Kaufman, Partner, Middle East Venture Fund; Jonathan Kolber, General Partner, Viola Private Equity; Benny Landa, Founder Indigo Group and Landa Group; Moshe Lichtman; Shmuel Meitar, Founder, Aurec Group, Amdocs; Dan Proper; Gad Proper; and Avigdor Vilenz, Founder, Galileo Technology.Palestinian members include Samir Huleileh, Chief Executive Officer, PADICO Holding; Riad Kamal, founder of Arabtec construction firm; and Zahi Khouri, Chief Executive Officer, Palestinian National Beverage Company.Munib Masri, Chair of the Palestinian BTI group, said: “It takes courage, vision and determination to stand together and to demand the breaking of the impasse between our two nations. Palestinians yearn for freedom, dignity and independence from occupation and we see no good coming from the current impasse except the perils of future conflict. The majority of Palestinians want to achieve a two-state solution and to live in peace and security with Israel as our neighbour.“We call on the leaders of the two countries to be bold and to move forward with an agreement to end the conflict seizing on the historic Arab Peace Initiative.” While we represent the major employers of Palestine, we see no merit in interim and economic solutions. Only a true end to the conflict, addressing all the issues of final status, will result in a new era of peace and hope. As business leaders we stand ready to invest in the future as independent neighbours and to support our leaderships while working toward a historic end of the conflict.”Yossi Vardi, Chair of the Israeli BTI community, said: “I am grateful that prominent business leaders from both sides have gathered together in order to encourage their governments to pursue the solution of two states for two peoples. It is time that this region and its people will enjoy peace and security, welfare, growth and economic prosperity.Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum, said: “The World Economic Forum is proud to have nurtured this initiative by prominent business stakeholders from Palestine and Israel. They are deeply troubled by the impasse and are not prepared to sit idly by while the future of their countries and their societies is threatened by further turmoil and uncertainty. The Forum will continue to support the community and will work with other global stakeholders to help ensure that this Initiative is taken further.”
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