including Schlumberger, Boeing, Halliburton, and Dow Chemical as well as SABIC and Saudi Aramco. The launch of KAUST accelerates efforts that have been going on for some time through higher education and specialized training to enhance the quality and quantity of opportunities for employment and economic growth in Saudi Arabia. King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals - enjoying strong partnerships with industry -- is internationally known for its excellence. Numerous other Saudi universities have endowed professorships and programs in partnership with the hydrocarbons and chemical industries. Specialized training institutions also support our strategy, as do the research and training centers of leading corporations operating in the Kingdom. Advances emerging from KAUST and other institutions will complement gains in intellectual property we expect from joint ventures of Saudi and international companies. Realizing our nation's strategic advantages as a global chemical hub - and reaching our further goals for development of intellectual and human capital - are vital to the citizens of Saudi Arabia. Our population is very young and is growing. This reality requires a high quality of education for our youth to support diversification of industries and the economy, and to provide jobs for the new generation. Ladies and gentlemen, let me emphasize the need for action to promote international trade. Petrochemical producers in the Gulf region export significant volumes of their products to other regions of the world - in fact to more than 100 countries. It is very important for our industry to have access to the world's market unfettered by artificial trade barriers. There is a concern that de-globalization is a growing threat and could result in restrictions of world trade. Most experts are in agreement that growth in global trade is beneficial to economic growth in most countries. Growth in global trade in prior years has been credited with lifting millions of people out of poverty in the emerging economies and bringing lower prices to consumers around the world. And yet, the World Trade Organization's Doha trade round has been languishing for over seven years as major country negotiators have been unable to reach consensus. This is in the face of an estimated 10 percent drop in merchandise trade volumes, according to WTO estimates. There are further complications to concluding a successful Doha trade agreement brought about by the recent recession. There have been significant job losses in many major countries, which encourage governments to protect domestic jobs and industries. Currently, there is a serious concern and some hard evidence that protectionism will gain strength, further depressing global trade as well as making it more difficult to complete a successful new WTO agreement. Gulf petrochemical producers are long-term players, aiming to deliver affordable products to world consumers. It is certainly in our interests to work to maintain open markets and to support efforts to re-energize the Doha negotiations. Growth in global trade is in our interests as well as those of our customers around the world. Our region has long-term comparative advantages to be the world hub for petrochemicals production, and increasingly, the hub for more sophisticated downstream products. Neither the recession of 2008 nor any protectionist measures by parties outside the GCC region can alter this. --More
