In the Middle of the Storm: Development and Governance in the Arab World
"A year has passed, and the state of play remains uncertain. Spring has turned to autumn, and autumn to winter," said IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde during a conference on the gap between development and governance in the Arab world.
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Overview
"When Mohamed Bouazizi, the Tunisian street vendor, set himself on fire last year, who could have predicted that his tragic death would herald a whole new Middle East?
Who would have foreseen that this act of desperation against a violation of human dignity would ignite a flame that would eventually illuminate the entire region, toppling governments and leading to mass awakening of social consciousness?
This much is clear: The Arab Spring embodies the hopes, the dreams and aspirations of a people yearning for a better way of life. Yearning for greater freedom, for greater dignity, and for a more widespread and fairer distribution of economic opportunities and resources. Basic human yearnings."
Read the full speech by Christine Lagarde.
This conference was co-sponsored with The Safadi Foundation USA, The Program on Arab Reform and Democracy at Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) and the Middle East Program of the Woodrow Wilson Center sponsored the launch of the Safadi-Stanford Initiative for Policy Innovation during this conference.
Conference Agenda
Michael Van Dusen, Executive Vice President, Woodrow Wilson Center; and His Excellency, Mohammad Safadi, Minister of Finance, Republic of Lebanon
9:30-10:45AM PANEL I: Regional Arab Reform
Tamara Wittes, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs
Mara Rudman, Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Middle East, USAID
Lina Khatib, Co-Founder, Program on Arab Reform and Democracy, CDDRL, Stanford
Miriam Allam, Safadi Scholar First Runner Up and Economist, OECD
11:00-12:15 PM PANEL II: Energy Reform and Economic Development in the Arab World
Robert D. Hormats, Undersecretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Agricultural Affairs
Inger Andersen, Vice-President, MENA, The World Bank
John D. Sullivan, Executive Director, Center for International Private Enterprise
Katarina Uherova Hasbani, Safadi Scholar of the Year
12:30-2:00PM Keynote lunch address by Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund introduced by Ambassador Joseph Gildenhorn, Chairman, Woodrow Wilson Center Board of Trustees, and His Excellency Mohammad Safadi, Minister of Finance, Republic of Lebanon introduced by Lara Alameh, Executive Director, Safadi Foundation USA
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The Wilson Center’s Middle East Program serves as a crucial resource for the policymaking community and beyond, providing analyses and research that helps inform US foreign policymaking, stimulates public debate, and expands knowledge about issues in the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Read more
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