Oct. 1--The leaders of emerging nations, like those of the Middle East, must encourage more high-tech investment to build bigger, stronger economies, the chief executive of Intel Corp. said on the final day of the U.S.-Arab Economic Forum.
Craig Barrett, CEO of the company that makes the electronic brains for four out of every five new personal computers, said $1 trillion a year is now spent on information technology around the world. Within a couple of years, the Internet will be used by 1 billion people, doing $10 trillion worth of business.
Unfortunately, Barrett said, only 2 percent of Arab homes use computers, compared with more than 60 percent in the United States. That limits a nation's ability to educate children, foster creativity and conduct research -- all crucial to economic development.
"Without these things happening in parallel it is very difficult to move forward to the next level of competitiveness," Barrett said. "Governments need to give people the ability to access computers."
Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi Arabian foreign minister, who spoke after Barrett at the three-day conference on expanding trade between the United States and Arab nations, said the Middle East has expended too much money on war.
"We have inflicted a struggle on ourselves that has zapped our strength to invest in our countries," al-Faisal said. "We need peace and stability so we can invest in our countries."
He urged Arab Americans to help with those changes. "As Arab Americans, you are a bridge which links America to the Arab world," he said. "You have an important job to do, and you should take pride in your heritage, which has become an important part of the American mosaic."
The prince also used a private five-minute meeting with Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to invite the mayor to visit.
"He said he was excited about the city, and the first thing he remarked about is how clean it is," Kilpatrick said. "I talked to him about investment opportunities here for the Arab world and he wants me to come out to Saudi, and we can formally have those conversations. I would like to go but let's see."
Kilpatrick visited Dubai in May 2002 during a four-day trade mission.
As the meeting concluded, many of the 1,000 political and business leaders who attended expressed hope they had taken at least one small step toward better understanding between America and the Arab world. But difficult and divisive political issues were hard to avoid during many discussions at the Renaissance Center in Detroit.
Bankers, investors and small businessmen swapped business cards, ideas and strategies about how to obtain contracts and develop business in a new Iraq.
But Amr Moussa, secretary general of the League of Arab States, warned that the Iraqis must be listened to for any future development. "The Iraqi voice has to be heard," Moussa said. "It is under occupation."
By Jeff Bennett and Niraj Warikoo
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(c) 2003, Detroit Free Press. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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