20 March 2017
The World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa will take place at the Dead Sea, Jordan, on 19-21 May 2017 with the full support and participation of Their Majesties King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Al Abdullah

The need for economic reform, the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and security and humanitarian issues will be highlighted in the programme.

Press accreditation is now open; to apply, please register online at www.weforummedia.org

More information about the meeting is available at http://wef.ch/mena17

Geneva, Switzerland – The World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa will be held at the Dead Sea in Jordan on 19-21 May 2017. Convening under the theme Enabling a Generational Transformation, more than 1,000 government, business and civil society leaders from more than 50 countries are expected to participate. The World Economic Forum, in close collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) is also bringing the 100 most exciting start-ups in the Arab world to the meeting at the Dead Sea.
 
Media accreditation for the meeting is now open. If you would like to cover the event, please submit your accreditation request online at www.weforummedia.org. The deadline for media accreditation is Thursday 27 April 2017. Applications received after this deadline will not be accepted and no accreditation will be considered on site.
 
The Co-Chairs of the meeting are Dominic Barton, Global Managing Partner, McKinsey & Company, USA; Khaled H. Biyari, Chief Executive Officer, Saudi Telecom, Saudi Arabia; Børge Brende, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway; Philippe Le Houérou, Executive Vice-President and Chief Executive Officer, International Finance Corporation, Washington DC; Majid Jafar, Chief Executive Officer, Crescent Petroleum, United Arab Emirates; Arif Naqvi, Founder and Group Chief Executive, Abraaj Group, United Arab Emirates; and Ursula von der Leyen, Federal Minister of Defence of Germany.

Since the meeting was first held at the Dead Sea in 2003, it has had the continued support and participation of Their Majesties King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Al Abdullah, and the Government of Jordan. This year’s meeting will build on Jordan’s central role in the region, and marks the ninth with Jordan as host. The World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa was last hosted in Jordan in 2015 in partnership with the King Abdullah II Fund for Development (KAFD).

© Press Release 2017