In today’s globalized world, we cannot rely on the political concepts of the past. It is necessary to mold national policies according to the changing geopolitical scenario. We should remember that it is not necessary that policies that might have worked in the past will continue to remain effective in future as well. Challenges have to be met looking forward, not backward.
http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/915991
I-BRIDGE's blog (Link Campus University's Research Centre on Global Affairs) - editor, Marco Emanuele - Critical thinking, complexity, international relations (Twitter, @Glob_Eye - Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/marco.emanuele.50)
Showing posts with label Ala Alghamdi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ala Alghamdi. Show all posts
Wednesday, 27 April 2016
Monday, 18 April 2016
United we stand (Ala Alghamdi, Arab News)
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman’s recent visit to Egypt and Turkey are strategically significant, both in terms of the countries visited and the timing. He began with an unprecedented visit to Egypt, which lasted five days and had major consequences for the two countries, followed by a three day visit to Turkey.
http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/912101
http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/912101
Monday, 11 April 2016
Firing a cheap shot at KSA again (Ala Alghamdi, Arab News)
Frontline has recently broadcast a documentary titled “Saudi Arabia uncovered,” which claims to present a picture of the “invisible” side of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Watching the program at first glance is shocking.
http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/908671
http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/908671
Monday, 8 February 2016
Make hay while the sun shines (Ala Alghamdi, Arab News)
Off the shores of Dubai, as the whole world knows, lie archipelagos of artificial islands — in the form of a palm, in the form of the entire world. The azure seas lap against wonders, and for a time, I am told, Hollywood celebrities competed for a chance to buy up a continent.
The considerable expense and technical challenges involved in their construction may indeed pay off — at least, one hopes they will. The Dubai archipelagos are the most poetic solution I have yet heard of for our common dilemma — transitioning out of the oil economy.
By the way, I do not advocate such a solution for Saudi Arabia. For one thing, I doubt we could build enough islands to attract enough celebrities and other tourists to support our nation in the long term, particularly now that the novelty of the idea has somewhat worn off. But I do admire the initiative taken by Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed. Knowing that the day would come when the oil reserves, which support his country’s economy, would falter and diminish, he resolved to increase the coastline in order to build and sustain tourism.
For Dubai, tourism is perhaps the best hope for a sustainable economy. For Saudi Arabia, other possibilities do exist, and we must be equally pro-active in making them a reality.
We have a young, well-educated workforce, ample land and huge markets. We must build the infrastructure necessary to maximize our industrial output, and what is more, we must do it now, while we still have the benefit of oil revenues. I often think that being blessed with an abundant natural resources — much like the student who is so gifted he does not really “need” to study in order to excel — is a double edged sword, so to speak. On the one hand, natural resources, such as our oil reserves, provide sustenance for our country and people. But on the other hand, the danger is that we will become too dependent on this non-renewable resource that will, inevitably, one day run out. History is full of cautionary tales of this nature, countries whose economies collapsed when a key resource, or the market for it, suddenly failed.
We do not need to be a cautionary tale. But now is the time to ensure that we do not become one. I consider our country’s current investment in education, including the scholarship program, which supports international study for our students, to be an excellent start.
We are building human capital as well as our relationship with other countries. But in and of itself, human capital is not quite enough. The countries of the world, which sustain their economic power, are almost invariably those, which industrialize, producing hard and soft consumer goods for their own people and for world markets.
It is up to us to decide what our own version of the “palm” and “world” archipelago will be. It may not be anything so poetic, but it can be original. I put special faith in our young people currently finishing their education in fields such as engineering and digital technology — they are the ones with the potential and the tools to create our future world. Let us give them the support they will need, and turn our current God-given resources into the infrastructure that will sustain their future, as well as our own.
The considerable expense and technical challenges involved in their construction may indeed pay off — at least, one hopes they will. The Dubai archipelagos are the most poetic solution I have yet heard of for our common dilemma — transitioning out of the oil economy.
By the way, I do not advocate such a solution for Saudi Arabia. For one thing, I doubt we could build enough islands to attract enough celebrities and other tourists to support our nation in the long term, particularly now that the novelty of the idea has somewhat worn off. But I do admire the initiative taken by Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed. Knowing that the day would come when the oil reserves, which support his country’s economy, would falter and diminish, he resolved to increase the coastline in order to build and sustain tourism.
For Dubai, tourism is perhaps the best hope for a sustainable economy. For Saudi Arabia, other possibilities do exist, and we must be equally pro-active in making them a reality.
We have a young, well-educated workforce, ample land and huge markets. We must build the infrastructure necessary to maximize our industrial output, and what is more, we must do it now, while we still have the benefit of oil revenues. I often think that being blessed with an abundant natural resources — much like the student who is so gifted he does not really “need” to study in order to excel — is a double edged sword, so to speak. On the one hand, natural resources, such as our oil reserves, provide sustenance for our country and people. But on the other hand, the danger is that we will become too dependent on this non-renewable resource that will, inevitably, one day run out. History is full of cautionary tales of this nature, countries whose economies collapsed when a key resource, or the market for it, suddenly failed.
We do not need to be a cautionary tale. But now is the time to ensure that we do not become one. I consider our country’s current investment in education, including the scholarship program, which supports international study for our students, to be an excellent start.
We are building human capital as well as our relationship with other countries. But in and of itself, human capital is not quite enough. The countries of the world, which sustain their economic power, are almost invariably those, which industrialize, producing hard and soft consumer goods for their own people and for world markets.
It is up to us to decide what our own version of the “palm” and “world” archipelago will be. It may not be anything so poetic, but it can be original. I put special faith in our young people currently finishing their education in fields such as engineering and digital technology — they are the ones with the potential and the tools to create our future world. Let us give them the support they will need, and turn our current God-given resources into the infrastructure that will sustain their future, as well as our own.
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