CEF, Arab Fund to host seminar with NYT’s Thomas Friedman
KUWAIT: Thomas Friedman, Pulitzer Prize winning author and columnist at the New York Times, will visit Kuwait tomorrow to attend an economic symposium. This was announced by Oussama Kanaan, Director of the IMF Middle East Center for Economics and Finance (CEF), at an event held at the CEF headquarters at Symphony Mall yesterday. Kaanan said this year’s symposium, titled ‘The World is Fast: How to Understand it and Thrive in it’, will tackle economic and social implications of economic reforms in Arab countries.
The symposium, which is the second part of a new series organized by the CEF, will be jointly presented by the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development. Friedman was invited since he is the most prominent economic writer in the world today and his opinions matter in many countries. He has been tasked to discuss issues related to economic challenges in the world today.
“With Friedman, we want to encourage a debate on many economic issues at hand. We want to have somebody here with us to discuss issues which will benefit us and share with the people in the region,” Kanaan said. Discussing the role of CEF, Kanaan noted the institution has been providing education and training in economics and finance to officials from all Arab countries since 2011.
“We don’t make any recommendations, but what we want is to get something from our speakers and ignite a debate that will enrich ideas. We do not go to governments in the Arab world and tell them that this is best for their countries - CEF is more into research,” Kanaan explained. The CEF curriculum continues to provide great benefits with courses in areas to which Arab policymakers are according greater attention, such as health and education.