Contents
 
 
 
1.     Introduction
2.     The Challenges of the Global Economy
3.     Academic and Professional Qualifications in a Global Economy
4.     GATS and Education
5.     Technology Transfer
6.     Intellectual Property
7.     Knowledge Management in a Global Economy
8.     The Virtual University
9.     Access to the World Wide Web
10.   Communications
11.   Electronic Business
12.   Conclusion

 

 
1. Introduction
Your Excellency, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. I am very pleased to be with you today to give you my views on the private sector and academia and the challenges they face. Visiting Sharjah is always a pleasure as my organization has had a long and fruitful association with it but this is not the only reason why I am pleased. The subject of your conference and the particular topic on which I have been asked to speak has long been dear to my heart. Indeed this is made clear in TAGI’s mission statement, which states that
"Our mission is to offer our clients a complete range of high quality professional services and to provide opportunities for our staff to qualify at the highest international standards and in so doing contribute to the economic, social and cultural development of the Arab World in the context of the Global Economy".
It’s been over twenty-five years since I founded my business but even before then I realized that young Arab men and women were at a disadvantage in respect of being professionally educated in business disciplines in their own country. That was why I resolved that as soon as I was able to do something about this I would .Our young people should be able to qualify at the highest international standards in their own language in their own country. Much progress has been made in the field of education in the disciplines that are closely related to my own businesses such as accountancy. I will return to some of what has been achieved later to illustrate not simply what we have done but more important what we need to do in order that we continue to improve the economic, social and cultural development of the Arab World.
Given my business background it is not surprising that my immediate interest lies with professional education i.e. education in disciplines such as accountancy, finance, law, management etc. Of course you cannot separate professional education from the basic academic education which schools and universities provide. Particularly in universities, the distinction between professional and academic educations has now become even more blurred.

 

2. The Challenges of Global Business and Digital Communication
The main message that I want to leave with you today can be expressed in two simple phrases "Global Business" and "Digital Communication". Unless we react to what, and how, we provide educationally in light of these challenges, we will be left behind and the economic gap between the Arab economies and those of the developed world will continue to widen. That this gap should continue to exist, far less widen, is simply unacceptable as far as I am concerned.
We are all aware of the incredible developments in information technology and their impact on world trade in both goods and services. Yet to date we have only scratched the surface. E-mail, E-commerce, World Wide Web, Internet, and Mobile Communications have not even begun to reach anything like their full potential. I do not want to get involved in the politics of the World Trade Organization (WTO) (well actually I do but not on an occasion like this) but love it or hate it, agree or disagree, it exists and the impact of the WTO and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) are of such profound importance not only to business but also to education and the professions that we ignore them at our peril.
3. Academic and Professional Qualifications in a Global Economy
Are our students being educated well enough to understand and to compete in this new world? Often when I put this question to many people in academia or professional education I get the answer "oh yes”. When I look at what they do and how they are doing it I often find that this means they have added an extra class or two in but very rarely is it of a revolutionary nature. It is no exaggeration to say that an educational revolution is precisely what we need. I then go on to ask them,
"is your qualification globally recognized?"
Is it treated on an equal footing with similar qualifications obtained in the USA or the UK and if not, are you working with the business community to achieve this? Now I know that the mutual recognition of professional qualifications has been, and still is, primarily a matter of politics rather than education but even in education have we really looked at this as rigorously as we should? Why do we accept the concept of unilateral agreements when we of all people - the Arab nations - should be acting together and demanding multi-lateral agreements?  
Let me illustrate this through the work of the Arab Society of Certified Accountants (ASCA). This society, without doubt the leading Arab professional accounting society, and of which I was, and still am, honored to be the founding President has made incredible progress in its relatively short existence. A few years ago our members and students felt that they were being unfairly treated compared to those who had obtained their professional qualification in the developed countries. To put it bluntly their qualifications were recognized in the Arab countries but ours was not in their country. At that time I was very heavily involved in working with the United Nations (UN) in their group on International Standards on Accounting and Reporting (ISAR). I had also made presentations at the major international accounting conferences on the need to do something about this and had suggested that what we needed was a "Global Accounting Qualification" as a benchmark against which national accounting qualifications could be judged. Although this concept was rejected by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) which was the body purporting to represent and look after the interests of the worldwide accounting profession, the UN was sufficiently interested to ask me to chair a group of international experts to examine this concept further which chairmanship I felt it my responsibility to accept. I will not go into the objections, the spurious arguments which were raised against it, and the often patronizing suggestions which were made. These were of course primarily designed to maintain the status quo where the benefits were all one-sided. To cut a long story short this group of experts did produce a model curriculum for a global accounting qualification which has been approved by the UN and endorsed by most countries in the world. Immediately after this was approved, ASCA appointed a small group of international experts to advise it on how its existing curriculum should be altered/restructured in order to comply with the global benchmark curriculum. This has been done and the necessary changes approved by the board of directors of ASCA. Later in the section on Communications I will mention some of the Arabization work this has entailed.
Having lost round one, the objectors changed track and accepted in principle the concept of the curriculum but argued that of course it was not practical because the curriculum by itself, while a necessary condition, was not sufficient. The quality and standard of what was taught and examined was equally, if not more important, and to monitor this on a global basis was not feasible, or so it was argued. Again they have been proven wrong. Largely at the instigation of ASCA, which had already suggested that an International Qualifications Body be established to take on this task, representatives of some of the leading professional bodies in the world, the UN and IFAC met and set up a task force to look into this. The task force has presented an interim report that concludes that it is feasible and it anticipates producing detailed recommendations by the summer of 2001. There of course is still a long way to go but what we have learned to date is that all curricula should now be examined, developed and formulated on a global basis and that some international agency is needed to monitor and advise on quality and standards. The formulation of such curricula should be a joint effort between the academic and the business community as should be also the move for international accreditation agencies and both should be set in the context of the global economy. In January of this year the "Fourth Arab International Accountancy Conference on the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and its Effect on the Arab Economy" took place in Abu-Dhabi under the auspices of the Arab Society of Certified Accountants and the UAE Ministry of Economy and Commerce. This conference, which was held under the patronage of HE Sheikh Fahim Bin Sultan Al-Qassimi Minister of Economy and Commerce and chaired by myself , was concerned with the economic changes which were taking place in the world, especially those related to GATS. The conference covered many topics and it is interesting to note in the Closing Declaration agreed by all the participants the following two recommendations in the section on "Accounting in an Environment of Liberalization of Trade in Services."
"1.The participants called for the speedy accreditation of accounting qualifications and to adopt the mutual recognition principle according to the standards prepared by the United Nations Commission presided over by the Chairman of the Conference, Mr Talal Abu-Ghazaleh. This would enable professionals to export their services as well as importing the services of others.”
         
"5.The participants stressed the need to review horizontally and vertically the curricula of the Arab universities' accounting departments. The scientific content of such curricula must be further improved. Curricula should be restructured and enriched by subjects fulfilling the requirements of the 21st century. The participants also recommended reviewing the current conventional methods of training and assessment and the introduction of information technology." 

 

4. GATS and Education
The implications for and the important role education plays in economic development is well recognized by the WTO in respect of GATS.
“The crucial role of education in fostering economic growth, personal and social development, as well as reducing inequality is well recognized. Countries seek to ensure that their populations are well equipped to contribute to, and participate in, the process of social and economic development. Education enables them to face the challenges of technological change and global commercial integration. Through its capacity to provide skills and enable effective participation in the work force, education is crucial to economic adjustment." 
It then goes on to ask many questions as to how educational institutions and governments are coping with this e.g.
"What is the impact of liberalization in international trade in education on the quality and availability of education in developing countries?"
"Do members see a need to encourage national education administrations to focus more closely on possible links between ongoing regulatory developments and GATS obligations?"
"How can problems of non-recognition of diplomas/degrees granted by foreign providers be prevented from frustrating the expected gains in market access?"
"Are the entities involved in regulating the sector (and their students -my insertion) sufficiently aware of GATS implications?"
 
GATS, therefore, does not only have an impact on education in respect of what we teach as education itself is one of the services which is to be opened up and barriers to crossing national boundaries eliminated .It is interesting to note that in referring to new export opportunities GATS states that
"On the export side, developing countries are generally considered to have a comparative advantage in service sectors that are either labor intensive or require highly skilled technical personnel. The sectors or sub sectors in which it may be possible for these countries to develop trade, taking into account the above two factors are listed below”
This list includes Educational Services - the question I put to you is "are we going to rise to this challenge? We must also bear in mind that export opportunities will also arise in other countries that will see our markets as a prime opportunity for such services.
 
5. Technology Transfer
The impact of the WTO and its various activities cannot be ignored when looking at professional education and development. Technology transfer provides another example where I have first-hand experience and where the academic and business communities should be working together. Global activities have led to an ever-increasing role for technology transfer in industrial development. Such a transfer is more often than not done through some form of licensing agreement. My intellectual property firm was more and more being called on to advise on this. While our lawyers accepted, with enthusiasm, the challenges which this presented we soon discovered that this was a professionalism in its own right but that there was no focus for gathering, disseminating, discussing and learning about matters of mutual interest. These would normally be part of the role of a professional society but none of the relevant existing societies in the Arab World seemed interested. My organization, therefore, took the initiative in setting up a regional society to support businesspeople involved in licensing and technology transfer and to develop the licensing profession in the Arab world. This is another example of how we seek to achieve our mission. Within a couple of years of its establishment this society satisfied the requirements of the worldwide licensing society, Licensing Executives Society International (LESI) and was invited to become a member of the international body and is now called The Licensing Executives Society – Arab Countries. LES-Arab Countries is now seeking to promote the inclusion of appropriate law and other materials in university teaching programs and to work with them in achieving this. But again, we had to go the universities; they did not come to us. LES (Arab Countries) has already carried out a series of training course on "Basics of Licensing and Technology Transfer" in Abu-Dhabi, Kuwait, Amman, Beirut and Bahrain and more are planned for next year. These courses have included not only Arab experts but also international experts from Germany, France, and Switzerland.
There is often a tendency for people to think of technology transfer in terms of technology and the tangible results of this such as advanced products and services but it is important to keep in mind the true nature of technology transfer is knowledge transfer. So what is the most important new technology transfer tool existing today? The answer of course is the Internet. The amount of information that can be accessed electronically is staggering. In a recent case of a Chinese-American charged in the USA with spying for China experts noted that much of the "confidential information" he had transferred was available from open sources on the Internet! The Internet is the biggest "knowledge transfer" tool to come along since the invention of writing and formal education.
Technology transfer has to be seen as part of a national strategy for technological development. At the beginning of this month I gave a presentation entitled "Intellectual Property, R&D and Innovation in the Arab World”. This took place during the opening session of the 4th International Conference and Exhibition & on Chemistry in Industry held in Bahrain under the patronage of H E Sheikh Isa Bin Ali Al-Khalifa Minister of Oil and Industry. I referred to a recent report on "The Global Context for US Technology Policy" by Assistant Secretary of State for Technological Policy, Graham Mitchell where he offers some examples of technological policies and strategies for developing nations which are worth examining.
          "Technological Policies in Developing Nations
          Examples of Policies and Strategies
          Phase 1
Development of Infrastructure Base for Foreign Multinationals
Solicitation of Foreign Direct Investment
Creation of Attractive Investment Regimes: Tax Incentives, Labor Incentives, Regulatory Incentives etc
Public Expenditure on IT, Energy, &Transportation Infrastructures
Phase 2
Building National Domestic Economy through Foreign Technology Acquisition
Offset Policies for Market Access
Technology Transfer and Technology Acquisition Strategies
Expanded Tax Incentives
Incentives for Use of Domestic Subcontractors or Suppliers
Phase 3
Development of Indigenous R&D and Commercialization Capability
Government Funding of Research and Development
Investment in Technology Commercialization
Investment in Higher Education and Human Resource Development
Funding of R&D in Specific High Technology Sectors."
Today most Arab countries fall into phase 1 and 2 of this model; so what can we - the private sector and the universities - do to push forward and accelerate the speed of this development? In my speech in Bahrain I paid particular attention to the need to create an innovative society and to invest in Research and Development. Innovation is almost non-existent in our region. Apart from anything else this should be a matter of pride for us. Our failure to achieve innovation is not consistent with the impressive history of Arab scientific achievement. So where do we begin? Innovation in practice requires a mix of individual creativity and collective cooperation and there is a strong link between science and technological education and R&D. While we have many good schools in the Arab region and I am honored by the many associations I have with them, I think we must be honest in admitting one serious weakness in our education system and you may not like what I am about to say. Arab education as a matter of culture does not encourage students to ask questions, seek answers and be creative. After seventeen years or more of this type of system it is unlikely that a student will enter the work environment with the ability to think for himself. His innovative spirit was stunted years before. This is the reality of the situation and many of us here today were victims of this approach and while sometimes we may rise above our limitations, education should be helping us not hindering. The other point I made and which I will briefly refer to is that while more investment in R&D is needed it also needs to be implemented effectively. Scientific breakthroughs are exciting but remember much progress also comes from the continuous improvement in what was invented some time ago. I would like to see the fostering of creativity, innovation and critical thinking as top-level goals for all our schools from primary to university level.
We need to spend much more on R&D than we do at present and all of us should be encouraging our governments to do so, but the private sector should be doing more as well. In Bahrain I called on every Arab company as an excellent first step to dedicate at least 3% of its revenues to R&D. I am sure the universities would be more than willing to advise on how this might be spent and this would help create and/or strengthen the linkages between industry, government and educational institutions.          
6. Intellectual Property
Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property (AGIP) is the largest trademark registration and intellectual property company in the Arab region and one of the top five of the largest in the world. We have always therefore taken a special interest in all education related to these subjects and many years ago we helped found the Arab Society for Intellectual Property (ASIP). ASIP encourages and supports the development of intellectual property protection and through seminars and other educational courses raises public awareness of this topic. A topic made even more important with the widening of world free trade and the potential of electronic communication opening up global markets to all. We had been conscious for some time that there was a need to provide education at the highest level in this field so we have launched a new initiative which is to develop a specially designed degree level program for those many different specialists such as lawyers, scientists, engineers and trademark registrars working in the various fields of intellectual property. ASIP will act as a provider of information such as books, and other reference and study material. In order to ensure that this material is of the highest international standard it will draw heavily on the work of the recognized international professional body the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). ASIP will also establish a Higher Council for Examinations which will consist of representatives from WIPO, ASIP, WTO and international and Arab experts. In order that the teaching should also be of the highest quality ASIP is seeking to sign cooperation agreements with universities and other institutions of higher education in the Arab world.    
I believe that the success of this project will be because it has been marketplace-led and that it will illustrate what business and academia can do when they work together.
Intellectual property continues to grow in importance for the economies of the world and the Arab World is no exception to this. Unfortunately many people do not recognize this and see intellectual property rights as some sort of restraint on trade when indeed it is the opposite. In the previous section we referred to technology transfer. In the absence of effective intellectual property rights (IPR) protection, international companies are likely to follow two paths; they will either refrain from technology transfer or they will transfer technology only to their foreign subsidiaries. As the provisions of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) are implemented, this should encourage a substantial increase in the level and quality of technology transfer. IPRs can encourage innovation and knowledge creation and I do not accept or believe that the Arab people are any less innovative or creative than others. Indeed my own Intellectual Property Mission, which has been accepted by the World Intellectual Property Organization as theirs, also, makes this quite clear.
"The purpose of intellectual property rights is to promote the economic, social and cultural progress of society through the development and monitoring of global disciplines and treaties of intellectual property rights that encourage innovation and knowledge creation."
 
7. Knowledge Management in the Global Economy
I make no apologies for the fact that I spend a lot of time in the Arab World and elsewhere encouraging, persuading, cajoling, and pushing political and business leaders to accept the reality of the knowledge society and the need for us to become part of it. When asked to explain what I mean by a knowledge society I give them the definition I composed some time ago
"The Knowledge Society teaches and learns, communicates, innovates, governs, conducts business, rule-makes and progresses in all walks of life through the use of digital technology. It is the society that has a digital nervous system, which utilizes the unlimited potential of knowledge management to further progress."  
 
Although much progress has been made we have still a long way to go before we are a truly a knowledge society. A first step is to understand the language of technology. Let me give an illustration. The Arab Management Society (AMS), and which incidentally is about to change its name to the Arab Knowledge Management Society (AKMS), was formed as a result of the initiative of my organization. It is, amongst other things, a vehicle for conducting research in management practices in the Arab World. Arising out of this we came to the conclusion that in practical business terms Arab management was in danger of not being adequately equipped to deal with the digital revolution. Accordingly the AKMS is in the process of developing a qualification program designed to provide digital literacy. The program will be made available to all those interested including businessmen, government officers, employees, students and housewives. It is expected that those taking up the program will have a basic understanding of computers however, for those with no computer skills, a remedial introductory course in basic computer knowledge will be made available. The topics covered in the diploma will include the use of e-mail, the use of the Internet, E-Commerce, E-Government, TV Interactive Communication, Multimedia, and Digital Signature. Successful candidates will be awarded the “Knowledge Management Diploma” by the AKMS, which will act as the examination and qualification body.
However a much greater effort is required if we are not to fall behind in the race for knowledge in a world more and more dependent on technology. In a speech I made earlier this year at a meeting called by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) at UN House in Beirut to discuss Information Technology and Development Priorities: Competing in the Global Knowledge-based Economy, I called for greater cooperation and coordination between the private and government sectors in our region through the creation of a Coordinating Council. This would work in conjunction with the United Nations and other international organizations in the drive to create a knowledge society. We desperately need an Arab Knowledge-Based Economy Initiative which would establish a permanent body on information technology and the knowledge economy to which Arab governments and Arab businessmen could go for assistance. I know that many individuals and businesses are doing what they can. Within TAGI for example we have established a WTO and E-Business Consultancy Center.
This Center is made up of a team of highly qualified lawyers, economists and information technology experts. It provides advice to governments on the legislative changes needed to abide by WTO regulations .It also organizes seminars and workshops for both government officials and businesspeople which help establish a better understanding of the functions, implications and opportunities of accession to the WTO. Similarly with e-business it advises both governments and businesses on just what this means and the steps and processes which have to be gone through before launching any e-business initiative. 
 Nevertheless something much greater is required. The universities I believe could have a key role in such an initiative, an initiative which I further emphasized the need for at a conference in Muscat only last month. 
8. The Virtual University
Global economy and digital communication have not only raised the question of what we teach. They also raise the challenge of how, where, and whom we teach.
The concept of life-long education and learning has not been available for most people. Self-learning through books and other material has been the main medium for those who wished and were able to do so. The professions have always been aware of the need for continuous professional education in order to keep their members up to date and thus be fit to act in the public interest. This continuous education again has been developed mainly in the context of traditional learning methods such as attending courses or conferences. Digital communication poses a totally new challenge to the universities to do some really radical thinking and to reexamine some of the traditions that have been etched in the tablets of stone of academia. I would not pretend to know what the answers will be when this is done. What I do know is that the questions posed will be challenging and will need on occasions for us to think the unthinkable. Many universities have realized that off-campus (distance) learning is a viable alternative for those who for a variety of reasons cannot attend a university. To date, however, most that has been offered is set in the philosophical context of "as near as possible to what we have always done". Yet those who have cast aside this approach and have instead asked, "Why do we do this?" have come up with some interesting results. For example why do we set entry standards for those who wish to attend university? When we ask this question the answer usually given is because only those of a minimum academic standard will be able to cope. While I am sure this is one of the reasons I suggest it is not the only one. Another is that as there is usually a limited number of places (often much less than the number who want to take them up) and we have to find a fair method of allocating these. The method usually adopted is entry qualifications. This must be the case given that different courses in the same institution often have different entry standards and that over time the same course in the same institution will have different entry standards. If the restraint of numbers is taken away then ability to cope is the only justification for entry qualifications other than perhaps seeking to control or plan the labor market. However as universities have a whole series of tests which they give students as their course progresses why do they not let these be the eventual test and abandon entry qualifications altogether? Before I have all the academics here today on their feet in outrage I am not suggesting that we do this. It is simply an illustration of how we should be challenging traditional thinking. Incidentally at least one university in the UK did this and has abandoned entry qualifications for its distance learning master’s degree in business administration with no deterioration in quality. Those without the traditional entry qualifications (most of their students in fact do have these), if they are successful in their initial university degree examinations, go on to do as well as their fellow students.
Digital communication, the world wide web and so on have added a new dimension to learning and have removed the barriers and constraints of the past - geographical location, distance and time. The virtual university is now a practical reality but are we facing up to the challenges this presents and are we doing this in conjunction with the business community which itself is facing similar challenges? I would suggest to you that unless the traditional university changes into a virtual university its chances of survival diminish and its chances of success diminish even more. If the local university cannot provide the opportunity then a virtual university located elsewhere will.
Perhaps the Al Gore project for U.S. digital universities would present an interesting model to study and a challenge to face.
 
9. Access to the World Wide Web
Let me digress for a moment. Although digital communication offers up tremendous opportunities, unless you have access to this then not only are these opportunities denied you, but you are at a severe competitive disadvantage. There are many countries in the world which just do not have the infrastructure which is required and while here in the Gulf the Arab countries may be well positioned there are other areas in the region where this is not the case. If parts of the Arab region, as indeed is also the case in many of the developing countries, do not have the correct infrastructure then a master plan for the rectification of this is called for. Global trading will only be fair if it takes part on a level playing field. I have made this point on a number of occasions and have brought it to the attention of some of the world’s leading business and political figures. It is a problem that has to be solved and it is in everyone's interest that it should be solved otherwise we are in danger of creating a new underclass – those without access to the Web.
Here again there is a contribution which both the business and the academic communities can make and the challenge is for them to do so. There are many academic institutions that are well equipped with modern computers and other information technology equipment. There are also many periods of time –evenings, weekends, vacations – when these are not being fully utilized so why should they not be made available to the general public? The same applies to many businesses and here if availability of use was linked to some joint business program in which the universities were involved, all would benefit.
10. Communications
Success in professional services, as in so many other competitive areas, is heavily dependent on good communications. Unless you can communicate as well as others you will always be at a disadvantage. Although historically many of the great intellectual developments which transformed communications originated in the Arab World, if we are honest with ourselves, in recent history we have trailed behind with all the attendant economic and social disadvantages that this brings.  
This became clear to me many years ago when I found that there was not available an Arabic text which dealt adequately with the language of accounting where understandably the global language was English. This was why I prepared my dictionary “The Abu-Ghazaleh Dictionary of Accounting”. This book has become the standard Arabic/English reference text for professional accounting and has proved so popular over the years that recently I have had to produce a new and enlarged edition which is entitled "The Abu-Ghazaleh Dictionary of Accounting and Business.” The same situation held in the field of intellectual property where again there was a danger of the Arab World falling behind and so I produced the "Abu-Ghazaleh Dictionary of Intellectual Property”.
When ASCA decided to model its curriculum on the global standard again we found that there were simply not the textbooks available that our students would need. Certainly there were many textbooks written in the English language but we needed Arabic texts. I am sure, indeed I know, that there are many universities in the Arab World that face the same problem. Accordingly we set about commissioning textbooks in Arabic in the following areas
           1. Economics
           2. Qunatitative Methods and Statistics for Business
           3. General Business Policies and Basic Organization Structures.
4. Management Functions and Practice - Organizational Behavior, the Functions of Marketing in Business, and Principles of    International Business.
 5. Operations Management and Strategy.
 6. Business Finance and Financial Management .
 7. Basic Accounting, Preparing Financial Statements, and the Accounting Professions.
 8. Advanced Financial Accounting Practice.
 9. Advanced Financial Reporting Principles
10. Management Accounting-Basic Concepts
11. Management Accounting -Information for Planning, Decision Making and Control.
12. International Accounting Standards.
13. Taxation in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
14. Taxation in Libya, Egypt and Sudan.
15. Taxation in GCC Countries and Yemen.
16. Taxation in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine.
17. Business and Commercial Laws in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
18. Business and Commercial Laws in Libya, Egypt and Sudan.
19. Business and Commercial Laws in GCC Countries and Yemen.
20. Business and Commercial Laws in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine.
21. Auditing Fundamentals
22. Auditing - Advanced Concepts.
23. International Standards of Auditing.
24. Code of Professional Conduct.
25. Information Technology
26. English Language.
27. French Language.
 
Authors have been commissioned for most of these and some are now available. I would commend these to you for use in your accounting and other business courses as I would also the professional journal of ASCA. The Executive Manager of ASCA - Ibrahim Al-Nakhaleh - would be more than happy to supply you with further information. We see this as a Pan-Arab venture.We need the cooperation of all and the best use of available resources as we do not want to waste energy by reinventing the wheel.
In terms of cooperation we have signed a "Cooperative Agreement with The Advanced Management Institute at The Arab Academy for Science and Technology-Arab League" This agreement covers amongst other things the organizing of preparatory courses for students and revising ASCA study books. ASCA has also signed cooperative agreements with several universities to provide training courses for ASCA students. Such agreements exist with the University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan; the Omani Arabic Institute For Training, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman; the Al-Najah University, Nablus, Palestine; the University of Bethlehem, Bethlehem, Palestine; the Al-Azhar University, Gaza, Palestine; the Dalmon Academy, Manama, Bahrain; the Ajman University, Ajman, UAE; the American Academy of Technology, Beirut, Lebanon ; the Science and Technology University , Sana'a , Yemen ; Al-Ahqaf University , Hadramawt, Yemen ; the Academic Graduate Studies and Economic Research Institute , Tripoli , Libya ; and the University of Adan , Yemen . We are keen to develop such relationships with other universities and higher education institutes and to consider collaborative programs with them and ourselves and the business community.
When we translated the Business Guide to the Uruguay Round in association with the International Trade Center UNCTAD/WTO and the Commonwealth Secretariat the main objective again was one of communication. We wanted to show the Arab people what the Uruguay round meant and how it might benefit our economies and therefore it had to be available in their own language. I regard these just as much social obligations as economic ones.
We have entered a new era for communications and the question I pose here is "are we going to be left behind again?" We just cannot allow that to happen and we owe it to our children and grandchildren that this will not be the case. This new era is of course electronically led and it is imperative that the Arab World participates in this. My own companies are now electronically led and we are investing heavily in this, otherwise we will not be able to compete in this knowledge society.
I am delighted to let you know that TAGI has become a member of the Business Constituency (BC) of the Domain Names Supporting Organization (DNSO) of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
As you may be aware the Internet is a global infrastructure whose technical underpinnings, the protocols, numbers and names that make it work, were until recently performed under United States of America Government contract. Two years ago the US, in consultation with the global internet community, decided that assignment of internet names, addresses and protocols should be overseen democratically by all stakeholders in a new non-profit corporation. The ICANN's brief is to fulfill these tasks in a manner that promotes the global public interest in the operational stability of the Internet. All of the issues within ICANN's scope of work have a direct impact on the development of the Internet and business's ability to build trust in electronic commerce. The DNSO is responsible for providing ICANN with guidance on policy related matters involving the assignment of names and numbers - perhaps the issue of greatest importance to business. In order to give each of the DNSO stakeholders a voice in the formulation of domain name policy, it is organized into seven constituencies one of which represents business and commercial interests. This is the Business Constituency (BC). It was extremely important that there was a voice on this constituency that could give the Arab point of view on this important issue and with TAGI's membership this is now the case.
This membership has already begun to pay dividends. During the meeting of the BC in Yokohama in July the TAGI representative made the suggestion of voluntarily translating all BC documents into languages other than English because these documents have to be circulated to all members over the world. This suggestion was accepted and it was resolved to do so, and TAGI is to translate all BC documents into Arabic. The same resolution was also approved by the Names Council (NC) which recommended that ICANN should do the same for all of its material including its website. TAGI again will translate these into Arabic. Work has already been done for the BC and which will shortly appear on its website.
We anticipate that there will be more exciting developments in this area of communications shortly. We hope to be accredited by ICANN as a top level Domain Name Registrar and to be the first Arab company to be able to offer Arabic domain names. We have also applied to become members of the Multilingual Internet Domain Names Consortium (MINC) as a representative of the Arab countries. The benefits derived will be of value to all of those doing business in the Arab World (including my competitors!)
 
11. Electronic Business
I doubt if there is any businessman in the world who has not been giving some thought to electronic business or e-commerce as it is sometimes called. These thoughts will have been from a both positive and negative viewpoint. Does it offer opportunities for my business to expand or will it pose a threat to my business, which might make it decline? When one considers along with this the implications of the WTO and GATS then the answer to both these questions is yes. The AKMS was concerned that not enough attention was being given to the implications of e-business , so that in October it organized in Muscat a conference on "Meeting the Challenges of Electronic Business". This conference, which was held at the invitation of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Arab Knowledge Management Society (AMS) and in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Talal Abu-Ghazaleh International (TAGI), was under the patronage of HE Mohammad Bin Ali Bin Nasser Al-Alawi, Minister of Legal Affairs and was chaired by myself. The main aim of the conference was to awaken interest in the impact of e-business and how the Arab World might enhance its capabilities and potential in order to be able to rise to the challenges that would be presented. Many issues arose out of the 30 research papers that were presented, as were many detailed resolutions and recommendations. Perhaps the most significant was a declaration which preceded these detailed recommendations and which I believe is so significant that I repeat it here today
"MUSCAT DECLARATION
AN ARAB E-BUSINESS INITIATIVE
The conference on meeting the Challenges of Electronic Business held in Muscat-Sultanate of Oman, on October 9-19 2000 declared its support for the following initiative.
A task force shall be formed under the chairmanship of the Minister of Commerce of Oman, Members of the Ministries of Commerce and Telecommunications and the Chambers of Commerce & Industry from Arab countries. Representatives from international organizations such as the ICC, ITU, WTO, WIPO, UNCTAD, ESCWA, Internet Law and Policy Forum, Global Business Action Group as well as other interested international, regional and governmental organizations will be invited to join this task force.
The mission of the task force shall be to promote the creation of a knowledge-based Arab economic environment and to foster innovation for enhanced productivity and competition in the knowledge-based global economy.
The Arab Knowledge and Management society (AKMS) will act as temporary secretariat to the task force in cooperation with the World Trade Organization and Electronic Business Consultancy Center at Talal Abu-Ghazaleh International.
The task force shall propose and seek implementation of business, technical and legal programs for Arab countries with the objective of creating an enabling E-business environment, including strategies for infrastructure development, education, legislation, privatization and capacity building.
Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, AKMS President and Conference Chairman expressed his gratitude to His Excellency Maqbool Bin Sultan for accepting the leadership of this task force and pledged his full support to His Excellency in this initiative. "
If we are to be successful then we require the input of the universities particularly in developing strategies for education that links in with the long-term needs of the private sector.
 
12.Conclusion
Chairman, I have always been a great believer in positive thinking so let me conclude with some positive suggestions. You may not agree with them but as I always say to my colleagues in TAGI, that is fine but do not simply reject them out of hand. Come up with better suggestions for dealing with the challenges we face.
My recommendations are as follows
a.                                          Appropriate schools within universities should have Business Councils which interface with the community. These should not be only advisory but should have some executive authority.
b.                                         Each university should set up a "Change Unit" to monitor and to recommend the changes that should be made in light of developments in digital communication and the global economy. Here again the "Change Unit” should not consist solely of academics and likewise need not confine itself to only academic matters but could also concern itself with the local economy and infrastructure. Both it and the Business Council should continually ask the question "Is what we are doing and how we are doing it creating a climate of creativity, innovation and critical thinking?”
c. Real world universities should be transformed into virtual universities and plans should be drawn up for this.
 
d.     Support should be given to advocating and supporting the establishment of Global Accreditation Organizations for the professional disciplines that are taught in the universities.
 
e.      The universities should add their voice and support to the establishment of an “Arab Knowledge-Based Economy Initiative".
 
f.       The universities should examine the investment in IT equipment which they already have and which they intend to make, to see if this can be made available to society at large in order to improve computer literacy and to provide access to those who might otherwise be deprived.
 
 
We all face challenges and if we refuse to rise to them we have lost an opportunity, an opportunity which may not return.
In closing, I would like to applaud the cultural leadership of our patron, H.H. Sheikh D. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al-Qassimi.