Education Key to Development: Gates
Siraj Wahab, Arab News
RIYADH, 9 November 2006 � Microsoft founder Bill Gates concluded 14 separate development agreements with Saudi universities, businesses and ministries yesterday during a whirlwind visit to Riyadh.
Speaking at the First Global Competitiveness
Forum, Gates urged the Kingdom and its people to make a solid commitment to educational excellence and encouraged partnerships to develop energy-sector software to leverage the country�s expertise in oil and gas production. He said the people of Saudi Arabia already had a
partner in
Microsoft.
�The agreements we signed today will help public- and private-sector organizations in Saudi Arabia to empower people to reach their full potential,� Gates told business leaders, academicians and government officials gathered at the forum. �As a leading IT company, at Microsoft we are committed to using our resources to help the citizens of Saudi Arabia and people around the world benefit from technology and thrive in the knowledge economy.�
The forum was organized by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) and Microsoft Arabia at the direction of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. Its focus was to bring information-technology-sector leaders together in an effort to advance the Kingdom�s goal of transforming the nation into one of the world�s 10 most attractive investment destinations by the year
2010 ["10x10 program"].
In his opening speech to the forum -- read out by Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman
-- King Abdullah emphasized Saudi Arabia�s resolve to improve the country�s investment climate within the framework of a comprehensive economic reform program.
�We have launched a comprehensive program to solve the problems facing investors in cooperation with all relevant government departments,� the king said.
Abdullah said the Kingdom was pleased to host the first global competitiveness forum as an affirmation of providing a suitable atmosphere to increase investments.
�We are happy to see the participation of world personalities including intellectuals and business leaders to exchange views and make practical proposals with Saudi officials and businessmen,� the king said.
Abdullah said the forum was organized in support of SAGIA�s 10x10 national program. �This of course demands a lot of efforts in order to improve performance, increase productivity and enhance the Kingdom�s competitiveness,� the king said.
In his keynote address, Gates said the road to a prosperous future was the information superhighway, which would enable international business and education partnerships that would otherwise be impossible. �The digital approach is also making it a worldwide marketplace,� Gates said. �That is a good thing. It means that when you partner with other companies, they don�t need to be companies in the same location. We are seeing, for example, companies in China with great manufacturing expertise; we have companies in the United States that have various types of medical or software expertise. Many of these great products will involve companies from different countries working together. For a company like Microsoft, it means partnering throughout the world to form new companies. For example, companies in Saudi Arabia can take a lead in the energy area and come up with software solutions for that as well as other strategic areas. It is very important for us to reach out to them to share the information and to make sure that they have the latest software to do the work. So the advancement will come from many countries.�
Most important to enable the Kingdom to compete in the global marketplace was a massive commitment to improve education, he said. �The governments have a central role to play. The most important priority of all should be investing in education and to have several world-class universities. These are the things where only the government can show leadership,� Gates said.
Speaking of his own country, the Microsoft chairman said that the keystone of the US economy was the country�s educational system. �The United States often ranks very high on the competitive tables, which you can say is very surprising because we are the most expensive economy in the world, our legal costs, defense costs and medical costs are highest in the world. The reason we do well is because our universities are among the best in the world,� Gates said. �Most people say 15 of the Top 20 universities are in the United States. We are also very lucky in that smart people from around the world often want to come to the United States, so we get not only the best domestic skills but a lot of top people from around the world.�
Gates said that for Saudi Arabia to succeed, a number of factors would have to be considered. �What does Saudi Arabia have to do to move up? I think they have to take a lesson from a number of places,� Gates said. �You�ve got to look at the US universities. You�ve got to look at their incentive systems where people who create intellectual property in the United States know that they can start a company, that their innovation will get that kind of protection.�
He lamented the difficulties people of many nationalities were experiencing when trying to visit and work in the United States. �I am actually quite critical of the US government for not making it easier for people to come in,� Gates said. �Immigration policies make it kind of slow and unattractive to come to the United States, so that is a big hindrance.�
Looking into the future, Gates said: �For interaction today, we primarily use the keyboard. In the future we will be using all sorts of means for interacting with the computer. We will be using speech, we will be using ink. And then, we are talking about eliminating textbooks or books altogether because we will have a very light thin screen, a tablet-like computer that you can carry with you and which would be connected to the Internet.�
An interesting revolution is under way, he said. �Ten years ago when we thought about photographs, we thought about taking a camera, developing a
film.. .. And when we thought about organizing and sharing our photo collection, that required working on paper that was very inefficient. Well, today, if you take a photo you can put it on the Internet and have it published in a very rich automatic way and in seconds. You can review your catalog in a very rich way. Isn�t that amazing?�
Gates recalled a story to underline the speed with which changes are taking place in the digital music world.
�I had my children with me recently and we were walking in a shopping area and there was a record store and my son asked me: �What is a record?� Well, he has never seen a record. If I take him to a museum, he will see one. He knows what a TV is, but 10 years from now even TV will be something people will look back on and say: �Well, how inconvenient that was.� You can�t carry it with you wherever you want and you can�t organize it the way you would like.�
Among the 14 agreements signed yesterday were pacts with King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Saudi Post,
Supreme Commission for
Tourism, Saudi Telecom Company, General Organization for Technical and Vocational Training (GOTEVOT), the
King Faisal Foundation and the Intelligence Department.
Organizers said the forum�s IT focus reflected the sector�s importance to economic development.
�Information and communications technology was chosen as the theme of the forum because of its vibrant impact on the economic productivity and competitiveness,� said SAGIA Governor Amr Dabbagh.
�It has a wide market that has big potential for developing a knowledge-based economy in Saudi Arabia.�
Reprinted with permission of Arab News
On SUSRIS
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