The Jeddah Chamber for Commerce and Industry (JCCI) is organizing a symposium on the global financial crisis here Sunday (February 1). Economic experts, representatives from Gulf banks and economic associations as well as representatives from ministries of finance and economy in Gulf countries will participate in the symposium. A working paper on the future of the Gulf economy after the financial crisis will be presented by Dr. Wadee Ahmed Kabili, economics professor at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah. The theme of the working paper is going to be the basis of the six-hour symposium. “The working paper on the future of the Gulf economy which I presented in Oman last month showed the specter of rising unemployment in the next 10 years,” said Dr. Wadee. He linked the unemployment with the education system in the region. Dr. Wadee thinks that the education system in the Arab world focuses on quantity and not quality. It also concentrates on the memorizing method more than on acquiring the fundamental skills, according to Dr. Wadee. Dr. Wadee predicted that the in next 14 years income will reach $4.5 trillion if oil price stayed at $50 a barrel.
