High on the agenda for the delegates at this year’s World Economic Forum summit are income parity and employment in the Middle East. The Summit on Global Agenda, taking place from November 9-11, 2014 in Dubai, will feature over 1,000 delegates. Included among them are international leaders such as Al Gore, Gordon Brown and Jose Manuel Barroso along with regional leaders like Majid Jafar, Vice-chairman of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Youth Unemployment and CEO of Crescent Petroleum.
Martina Larkin, Senior Director at the World Economic forum and speaker at the conference’s opening event, says that “geopolitics are straining the economy” while the international community seeks out strong leadership who can take charge and make the needed changes.
Majid Jafar, as vice chairman of the Council on Youth Unemployment, says that socio-economic challenges take priority over all others. Jafar adds that creating jobs and a strong, growth-oriented business environment should be of the greatest concern, especially since unemployment in the region stands at more than 30 percent.