1.      THE KNOWLEDGE REVOLUTION.
The foremost challenge is that of the knowledge revolution. Economic power will depend on creativity and innovation. Creation of wealth will move from traditional resources to the one asset: knowledge. Already, America’s three largest computer and software companies are now worth more than all the American companies in steel, automation, aero-space, and chemical and,plastic industries combined. This is a major revolution that will affect every aspect of human life. How will the world address this challenge?
 
2.      THE NEED FOR A NEW RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GOVERNMENTS & BUSSINESS.
Back in February 1998, I was honored to participate in New York at the very first meeting of its kind between the United Nations (UN) system, chaired by Mr. Kofi Anan, and the business community to explore the vital role that the private sector needs to play in inter-governmental organizations commensurate with its business in looking after its own interests.. There are too many inter-related social, economic, and environmental effects that dictate a need for a new partnership between the aforementioned. I look forward to my next meeting with the UN Secretary General on July 5,1999 in Geneva as a follow-up.
 
3.      THE WILL FOR COMMITTED ACTION TOWARDS DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.
Goodwill messages are no longer enough. We can no longer take an isolationist approach. The economic wealth of any country, developing or developed,is of critical importance to all the others. I hardly need to remind you of the impact of the recent Asian crisis in some very distant places. UNCTAD is a model for such positive attitude and I can vouch for that through my involvement in many of its programs on behalf of the Arab Society of Certified Accountants (ASCA).
 
4.      IMPLEMENTATION OF PROFFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION STANDARDS.
If we are to liberalize trade in professional services in conformity with GATS, it is inevitable that we develop qualification benchmarks as criteria for cross-border provision of such service. I am glad to announce that in March 1999, the UN adopted the recommendations of the committee of experts on global professional qualifications standards in which I chaired. We now need to put in place the mechanism that implements and control such standards.
 
5.      ROLE OF NGO’S IN WORLD ORGANISATIONS
At the NGO symposium on the environment, organized by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1998, I issued a plea to the WTO Director-General for the implementation of a formal system for NGO participation. Trade liberalization is about the private sector and the private sector should be allowed to be properly heard. A notable accomplishment in this direction is the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) setting-up an Industry Advisory Commission, in which I participated as a founding member in my capacity on behalf of the Arab Society for the Protection of Intellectual Property (ASPIP) in February 1999.
 
6.      THE CREATION OF A GLOBAL COMMONWEALTH OF ORGANIZATIONS
At the conference of Policing the Global Economy, held in Geneva in March 1998 and chaired by H,H Sadruddin Aga Khan, I called for the creation of an architecture which can bring together the UN organizations, the World Bank, the WTO, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and other such major global players with the aim of harmonizing their objectives, strategies, and activities.
 
7.      ENFORCEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTABILITY
Ignoring the obvious may work for ostriches, but for an Arab, I have spent too much time living around sand to want to stick my neck in it. If we are serious about stopping the abuse of our environment, we need to make the abusers accountable. Accountability dictates that we should adopt environmental reporting standards. As I always say: if you do not measure it, you cannot manage it. We have developed such standards, and the Committee of Experts, in which I participated, managed to have them approved by the UN in April 1999. That is an accomplishment, but the challenge is in making these standards into law, if humanity is to stop being a destroyer of environment.
 
8.      THE CHALLENGE OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
I am honored to share this session with H.E. Rita Derrick Hayes, Deputy US Trade Representative, and Permanent Representative to WTO, and wish to remind her of the discussion we had at the luncheon organized last year in Geneva by ICC.
An educator by career, H.E. supported my call for the need to develop programs in order to eliminate Internet illiteracy if we are to make Electronic Commerce truly global. We need to remember that 50% of the human race has not used the telephone once. Global means 92% of humanity and not just 92% of world trade!
 
9.      THE NEED FOR A TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY AGREEMENT (TOT).
The Arab Society for the Protection of Intellectual Property(ASPIP) has been championing the development and implementation of the highest level of protection of intellectual property rights throughout the Arab world. And a great deal was, indeed, accomplished in that direction. However, we believe that technology transfer should be governed by such tight disciplines similar to those in the TRIPS agreement. The Licensing Executives Society-Arab Aountries has voiced on many global forums the need for print on the other side of the coin. Provision for intellectual property protection should go hand in hand with technology transfer disciplines.
10.FREE TRADE NEGOTIATIONS AGENDA ON GATS.
Having completed multi-lateral agreements on financial services, information technology, and basic communications, it is evident that the sectoral approach does work. To abandon it and go for a new round and a new agenda on services is both unfair and unwise. The sectoral approach should continue if only because it happens to be in the interest of the developing world and contributes to a balanced global market place. The developed world should protect itself from becoming protectionist. We are great believers in free trade, not only in goods, but particularly in services. My firm proudly published the Arabic edition, jointly with WTO/ITC/UNCTAD, of the guide to the Uruguay Round, and will shortly similarly publish its updated Arabic version: “The Business Guide To The World Trading System”. Services contribute more than 80% of the global GNP!
 
11.THE NEED FOR A MULTI-LATERAL AGREEMENT ON TRADE ON OIL.
It is often claimed that oil is covered by GATT like other commodities. Yet, the question that needs to be answered is whether its importance justifies having a special agreement that would bring stability and fairness to both producers and consumers.
 
12.WATER AS A SCARCE COMMODITY.
The world community has been dealing with water from a political viewpoint. Isn’t it more advisable to privatize water and treat it just like any other good and service in the global market place? And shouldn’t the WTO put on its agenda the formulation of a multi-lateral agreement on water that would diffuse the explosive disputes between so many countries in the world?
If I sounded like a fool, my consolation is that Sir Winston Churchill once said that, “The great lesson in life is to realize that fools are sometimes right”