Agence France Presse

Shuneh, May 16:

Global political and business leaders were discussing hot-button issues on the second day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) here today, including Arab reforms, US and European foreign policy in the Middle East and terrorism. More than 800 delegates are attending the three-day long event which opened yesterday with a call by Jordan’s King Abdullah II for a world commitment to Palestinian statehood, the reconstruction of Iraq and unity against terrorism. World Bank president James Wolfensohn, echoing many financial leaders, said the region’s economies should shift their focuses to the private from the public sector to overcome an overall 15 per cent unemployment rate. The chairman of Egypt’s Artoc investment and development group, Shafik Gabr, also warned that a lack of economic reform was a ‘time bomb.’