2009 will bring unprecedented uncertainty to the Middle East. For this part of the world, the global economic predicament is coupled with highly volatile energy markets and large-scale erosion of asset values. The region’s economic landscape is being transformed. How will this transformation unfold throughout the year? The Middle East’s aspirations for prosperity will be challenged as it attempts to restore its own growth while navigating a complex geopolitical landscape.

The 2009 World Economic Forum on the Middle East will be a timely gathering of the foremost regional and global leaders to articulate the Middle East’s response six weeks after the G20 Summit in London and one-quarter of the way into implementing the 2009 rescue packages of the United States, Europe, India and China.

While austerity reigns over the region’s public spending, many governments continue to invest their reserves in large-scale projects with a view to long-term economic returns. The meeting will call on a unique mix of business, science and government leaders to engage in a strategic examination of such endeavours, with particular attention to innovation and technological proficiency as essential sources of future growth.