GCF underscores importance of supporting small and medium enterprises

Mark Crowell, Deputy Head of Innovation and Economic Development at King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) called at the final session of the second day of the 9th Global Competitiveness Forum for supporting research centers of Saudi universities specialized in promoting new business ideas poised to upgrade their skills and assist them to reach their goals through scientific ways.

He stressed the importance of increasing aspects of cooperation to solve the processes oriented to augment research in promising fields, noting that the Kingdom is offering its youths and business pioneers to take part in government projects infrastructure and development.

For his part, the Director of Competitiveness and Projects Development at Parson Global Foundation Shankar Selgam said during the session that the basic concept of changes index focuses on raising the free trade edge and further organizing it to liberate many products, noting that the Kingdom has made great strides in this regard and that ways of reaching highly competitiveness-associated capital were discussed.

He drew the attention to the importance of lowering of energy and communications products prices, particularly in view of the current fierce competitiveness witnessed by these sectors, adding that encouraging the youths to adopt pioneering ideas in the high-and-profit-taking service sectors is critically required in the current time.

Shankar said contribution rather than privatization is important to give the competitiveness a chance as is the situation everywhere in the world. On the other hand, we have to be able to practice free investment, he said, adding that the environmental system should work in a good way and it is possible that we could find youths who practice their innovative ideas outside the traditional boundaries amid the challenges the Kingdom is facing in view of oil falling prices.