At Bahrain Institute for Arab Renewal: Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh Lectures on the ‘Arab Economy in a New International Order’

AMMAN – The Economic Studies Unit at the Bahrain-based Global Institute for Arab Renewal (ARIG) has hosted HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, founder and chairman of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Global (TAG.Global), to address a virtual seminar entitled ‘The Arab Economy in a New International Order – Opportunities and Challenges.’

In his opening remarks, the Head of the Unit and Former Professor at Sana'a University, Prof. Dr. Ali Al Alki, welcomed Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh’s participation very warmly. That was followed by the Institute’s Vice President and Bahrain's Former Minister of State for Information Affairs, HE Ms. Samira Rajab who gave a brief expose on the professional journey of Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh, in addition to the regional and international positions he held, and the honors and decorations he received in different fields.

For his part, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh thanked the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Institute for hosting him to discuss such a significant subject. In his address, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh pointed out that the world had moved into a new era; the so-called Knowledge Era or the Economic Era, saying that the world is changing in every aspect and the Arab nation has two options: either to play the role of a bystander or to be part of the ongoing change.

He referred to a statement made formerly by  the Arab League Secretary-General, HE Ahmed Aboul Gheit, who once said, ‘The choice States face today is either to innovate or perish’, stressing that “We can make a change and a better future, however, to achieve that goal we have to become innovators, not just recipients.”

Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh also stated that everyone is able to innovate in his/her field of specialization and expertise, as innovation and creativity are boundless, noting that China alone annually registers half a million inventions. He added that TAG.Global introduced 75 inventions in the business field that are currently being used to carry out various business processes in the Organization and are constantly being developed. 

Furthermore, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh talked about the Fourth Industrial Revolution which he described as the ‘Innovation Revolution’, saying: “Understanding the fact that the world is rapidly changing is very important; the world will not remain as it is today, and will not wait for anyone, therefore, you need to embrace change, otherwise, you will perish,” he went onto say: “We should take this issue more seriously as we are in the process of moving towards a new world driven and managed by knowledge; a world of radical change.” 

 Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh concluded by talking about education and the importance of shifting from traditional education, according to which students graduate based on their ability to memorize information, into an education that graduates innovators and inventors. 

It is worth mentioning that the Global Institute for Arab Renewal (ARIG) is an independent, non-government, non-partisan, non-political, and non-profit intellectual, scientific and cultural organization. It is based on individual and collective impact initiatives and adopts the free scientific thinking in innovation and idea generation, as well as reviving the contemporary Arab culture. It also seeks to attract intellectuals, scientists, and researchers from the Arab countries.