Falih outlined a proposed-set of demands but do-able targets for the Gulf's chemical sector. “By 2020, the region's petrochemical and chemical enterprises should increase their sales by a factor of five,” Al-Falih said. He urged GCC (The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf) chemicals' producers to double the business-as-usual estimate of $80 billion per year for the next decade to $150 billion to $200 billion a year. With numerous employment-creation prospects, Al-Falih called on the industry to increase the chemicals-related workforce by a factor of 10 over the next 10 years, boost R&D spending and develop the necessary specialized manpower skills. “The next ten years will be a golden age for our region in terms of economic conditions and commercial opportunities, but we also face many structural hurdles and challenges. We must therefore seize this moment before it passes,” Al-Falih said.
