Related: Abbas to urge World Economic Forum to lift siege on Palestinians
         Mideast progress impossible without solving conflicts: Mubarak 

    

Klaus Schwab, president of the World Economic Forum (WEF), speaks at a press conference for the WEF Middle East Conference in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on May 20, 2006. Some 1,200 political and business leaders from 49 countries and regions and international organizations attended the three-day conference, opened in Sharm el-Sheikh on May 20. (Xinhua Photo)

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, May 20 (Xinhua  by Lin Jianyang) -- The World Economic Forum (WEF) conference on the Middle East kicked off on Saturday afternoon in Egypt's Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, which is attended by some 1,200 political and business leaders from 46 countries.

    Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak delivered an opening speech to an audience including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazef and WEF executive chairman Klaus Schwab.

    In his opening speech, Mubarak said that the forum came at animportant time for the Middle East, which he said had seen transformations and achievements, aspirations and opportunities,challenges and difficulties.

    The world was changing and that all the people in the world were facing similar challenges, such as the escalating danger of terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and poverty, which called for more international cooperation, said Mubarak.

    "A world of challenges that must be overcome, such as the widening gap between the rich and the poor, the political and economic imbalance of the present global order and the escalating threat of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction," he said.

    "The winds of change in the Middle East will not bear fruit without addressing current conflicts and tensions due to the stalemate of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, the situation in Iraq, the controversy over Iran's nuclear program, the situation in Sudan's western region of Darfur and the dispute between Syria and Lebanon," added Mubarak.

    The Palestinian issue, and the Arab-Israeli peace more broadly,will remain the core concern for peace and stability in the Middle East, said the Egyptian president.

    He said that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict should be solved on the basis of related international resolutions, vowing that Egypt would continue its efforts toward a settlement of the conflict.

    Regarding his own country, Mubarak said that Egypt had embarked on the path of reform for many years and that many indications showed that Egypt was on the right path.

    "Egypt's political arena is vibrant and the national economy has regained its strength and ability to achieve high rates of growth and employment," continued Mubarak, adding that the social safety net had also proved its success in mitigating the adverse effects of reform.

    The ruling Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Iran didn't attend the forum.

    When asked by reporters at a Saturday press conference over Hamas and Iran's absence, Schwab, also the WEF founder, said that the forum only extended invitations to those highest leaders and that it was Abbas regarding the Palestinians territories.

    While on Iran, Schwab said that the WEF meeting mainly focused on Arab countries and that Iran was now engaged in its contentious nuclear program.

    The three-day glitzy forum, held in Egypt for the first time,is the fourth of its kind, under the theme of "The Promise of a New Generation" this year.

    The previous three annual forums have been held on the Jordanian shore of the Dead Sea since 2003.

    Egypt hopes that the high-level event, set to attract world limelight, will show its economic reform progress and help draw in more investment and boost trade.

    Besides Abbas, a bunch of other prominent leaders and dignitaries also attend the forum, including U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

    The Egyptian security authorities have taken ultra-tight measures to guarantee a smooth and safe WEF conference, which came less than on month after five suicide bomb attacks hit the Sinai peninsula in late April.

    Hundreds of Egyptian policemen were deployed and dozens of roadblockades were set up along the main roads around the newly-build Sharm el-Sheikh International Conference Center, where the eventis held.

    At hotels accommodating participants and media staff, security guards searched every vehicle and carefully checked identification papers.

    Egyptian Interior Minister Habib Ibrahim el-Adli has vowed "extra-tightened security measures" facilitated by latest technology and specially-trained personnel to ensure the conference going safe.

    The forum is held in the wake of a spate of bomb attacks on the Sinai peninsula in April.

    On April 24, three suicide bombings rocked the Sinai resort Dahab, which is located some 85 km to the north of Sharm el-Sheikh,killing 20 people, and two others occurred at al-Gurah in northern Sinai on April 26, killing only the bombers.

    Sharm el-Sheikh, a popular tourist destination, was hit by aseries of bombings in July 2005, with nearly 70 people killed.

    The forum, modelled on the WEF's annual meeting at the SwissAlpine resort of Davos, is a platform for regional and world leaders to discuss economic reforms, unemployment and regional stability and peace in the Middle East.

    Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, the Geneva-based WEF is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas. Enditem