Jeddah Economic Forum (JEF) () is a forum held annually since 1999 during winter in the city of Jeddah, western Saudi Arabia. It has become the region's Middle East strategic think tank focusing on regional and international economic and social issues. The Jeddah Economic Forum is organized by the Jeddah Marketing Board, which is a part of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
It is also organized in association with Ernst & Young as a Strategic Knowledge Advisors partner. The current president of the forum is Shiekh Saleh Kamel. The forum was founded by Amr Dabbagh.
The forum has invited well-known speakers at the event such as George H. W. Bush, John Major, Bill Clinton, Gerhard Schroeder the former German chancellor, Madeleine Albright, Al-Waleed bin Talal, Queen Rania of Jordan, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Prime Minister of Turkey, Rafik Hariri Post Prime Minister of Lebanon, Mahathir Mohamad Prime Minister of Malaysia, and Lubna Olayan, Hillary Clinton, Klaus Schwab, Hayat Sindi and Princess Victoria Ingrid.
Speakers by year
The following have been speakers at the JEF.
2000
former UK Prime Minister John Major. former US president George H. W. Bush. Richard N. Cooper, Professor of Economics, Harvard University. Louis T. Wells, Professor of Economics, Harvard University. Roger B. Porter, IBM Professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
2001
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, former President of France. Helmut Kohl, former Chancellor of Germany. Amr Dabbagh, Professor of Economics, KAU. Chairman of JEF, member of the World Economic Forum. Prince Abdul Majeed bin Abdulaziz, then Governor of Makkah Region. Prince Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki, then Governor of Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority. Fawaz al Alami, former Minister of Commerce of Saudi Arabia. John Quelch, Dean of London Business School.
2002
Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Crown Prince of Bahrain. Prince Al-Waleed, World 8th Richest person. Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Council of Tourism of Saudi Arabia. Iyad Madani, former Minister of Hajj of Saudi Arabia. Hashim Abdullah Yamani, Minister of Electricity and Industry of Saudi Arabia. Osama Fakieh, Minister of Commerce of Saudi Arabia. Mohammed Abdou Yamani, former Minister of Information of Saudi Arabia. Mohammed Sabban, Advisor to the Ministry of Petroleum & Minerals. Amr Dabbagh, Professor of Economics, KAU. Chairman of JEF, member of the World Economic Forum. former US president Bill Clinton. Neil Bush, son of president George H. W. Bush.
2004
Queen Rania of Jordan. President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan. Rafik Hariri, former Prime Minister of Lebanon. Fouad Siniora, Prime Minister of Lebanon. Mahathir bin Mohamad, former Prime Minister of Malaysia. Shaukat Aziz, Prime Minister of Pakistan. Lubna Olayan, famous Saudi business woman. Crown Princess of Sweden Victoria Ingrid. Gunnar Lund, Minister of International Economic Affairs & Financial Markets of Sweden. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of Turkey. Mohamed Alabbar, Director General Department of Economy Dubai. former US president Bill Clinton.
