 Your Majesty, King Abdullah II, bin al-Hussein of the Hashemid kingdom of Jordan. Your Majesty, Queen Rania al-Abdulla. Your Royal Highness, Crown Prince al-Hussein bin Abdullah II. Your Majesty, King Philip of Spain. Your Excellencies, Royal Highnesses, esteemed heads of states, governments, and dear friends from the business community. I cannot mention everybody, but I would highlight here in the first row some personalities which, to a certain extent, will join us later also here. It's a great pleasure for me to welcome President Fouad Massoum of Iraq, President Muhammad al-Israouf of Nigeria, and President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian National Authority. It's also for me a special pleasure to welcome the high-level European participation we have here participating at this summit. And I want to specially mention Vice President Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. First, I want to thank your Majesties, the Government of Jordan, the Kingdom of Jordan, and the people of Jordan for the great hospitality which we are always experiencing when we are here in this wonderful country. It's now the ninth time that we meet at the Dead Sea, and it's actually a certain chubilee because it's the tenth time that the world they can make their home holds its main summit in Jordan. Again, we are here, a most powerful multi-stakeholder group. I greet, of course, the government representatives here, the business community, and you have joined us like never before, which shows the confidence of the business community into this region and into its promising future. I welcome the civil society, and here I want to mention, particularly, the face leaders of Iraq who have joined us without common values. There will be no stable base for future peace and stability in this region. But I'm particularly happy to have in this room so many young people. The theme of this annual meeting is intergenerational transformation. Let me just see if I look at our young global leaders, at the global shapers, at the social entrepreneurs, at the start-ups. Please stand up for a moment so that we can recognize you and we can see how actively you are engaged here. The theme of this meeting, as I mentioned, is intergenerational transformation. But yesterday, when I was discussing with our global shapers and our young global leaders, what is needed in this region? It's trusted leadership and it's inclusiveness. We want to be part of it. You may remember in Davos this year, we had as a seam responsive and responsible leadership. I could translate it in the following way and could say, listen, decide and act. But I could go one step further and could say, listen to the young, decide with the young and act through the young. That's what we are on to do here during this meeting. And we do not have only a dialogue. I think it's very important that we join in action and in this respect, I'm very glad that during this meeting, quite a number of initiatives will be born. Looking again at the seam of this meeting, I couldn't find a more appropriate opening. And in this respect, please welcome all His Royal Highness, Grand Prince Al Hussein to address us and to open this meeting official. Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim. Your Majesties, your Highnesses, Excellencies, Professor Schwab, distinguished guests. Thank you for your kind welcome and a special thanks to the World Economic Forum and the King Abdullah II Fund for Development for bringing us together today. Let me say what a privilege it is to stand before you, representing my beloved country, region, and the hopes we all share. And on behalf of all Jordanians, I want to thank our international friends for being here and helping to make this event a success. It is fitting that this year's forum is dedicated to the theme of generational transformation. Because for today's decision makers, the scope and speed of change in our world requires careful analysis, management, and planning. Yet for young people everywhere, including those who form the large majority in my region, transformation is the reality we were born into. For us, continual innovation is part of the rhythm of life. We grew up embracing new technologies, apps, and processes that give us new ways to connect and learn and work. Constant change is our status quo. Like young people everywhere, the youth of the Middle East are living in this vast sea of change. But our particular waters are characterized by two opposing currents. Both are forceful and potent, but each is pulling us towards drastically different shores. On one side is a treacherous tide, luring our youth toward a dark reality, one that sinks us deeper into violence, intolerance, and regression through the corrosive power of an extremist ideology. The other, transporting us to sunnier shores, where moderation sees our Muslim and Arab identities at peace with modernity and progress. A reality where we can be productive and positive contributors to the world around us. We are not drifters. When it comes to where the tide will take us, the choice is ours to make. What Arab youth want is what youth everywhere want. A fair chance, a chance to be heard, a chance to make a difference. What is unique to Arab youth, though, is a yearning and thirst that I have not seen anywhere else. Perhaps that's because our dire circumstances make us cling more tightly to hope. Young people in our region are the heaviest users of social media and the internet. We're the most likely to have smartphones, we're the gamers and the textures, we're the medical students who use the web to connect to global knowledge, we're the young entrepreneurs who build markets and scale up using digital tech. But more importantly, the youth of our region aren't satisfied to just adopt and adapt global technology. Beyond being mere consumers, I'm proud to say that especially here in Jordan, you'll meet young men and women who are spearheading innovation and change. They've produced new era products and services, new Arabic language web content, new ideas that can serve our region and our world. And during the course of this forum, you'll hear some of these innovators talk about their work and challenges. I also would like to congratulate the 21 Jordanian startups named in this forum among the 100 best in the region. You represent the best for the future of our youth through your perseverance, ambition, and determination. So here at the beginning of the global fourth industrial revolution, and thank you, Professor Schwab, for your words of wisdom about it, you can safely say, my generation feels the impact. And yet, what they need most is for you all to take a bet on them, to support them morally and financially so they can create their own impact. They need your help to advance and scale their projects so they can see for themselves the difference they can make. Our young people need a region wide support system for opportunity, access, and hope. That's why your partnership, all of you in this hall is so vital. But this is not a one way street. If we are to turn chances into life changes, then we, the youth, must be prepared to receive and make the most of the support we get. That means working hard to equip ourselves with relevant skills and tools. Everything around us is transforming. Markets, professions, trade and industry, technology, and so are the qualifications needed to harness these changes. We have to keep pace. All the while knowing that the fast pace we have gotten accustomed to must not be mistaken for fast success. Instant gratification can be a dangerous and false expectation from our generation. Making it to the top takes time, dedication, and a great deal of diligence. But if we all do our part, this can be a once in a generation chance to drive radical change across this region and ultimately drive radicalization out of this region. It can be our chance to release the talent, energy, and hopes of millions of men and women. Our chance to bridge the gap between what young people see and long for online and what they have offline. That our bright content creators become the progressive curators of our region. Hope and a fair chance are the deciding factors for which current will pull our youth. So I urge you to step in, extend your hand, unleash their power and potential, and guide them to safer shores. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, your Highness. If I may add one personal remark. Let's follow, let's go into the force industrial evolution. Let's create the world of tomorrow in a constructive, positive way. I have no now the honor and pleasure to invite King Felipe of Spain on the stage. Your Majesty, we all know Spain has always had very traditional relations with this region. And for this reason, we are particularly proud to have you here. Your Majesty is the King and Queen of Jordan. Your Excellency, President of Iraq. Your Excellency, President of Niger. Your Excellency is the head of state and government, the Royal Highness Prince Hussain al Abdullah. President of the World Economic Forum and Mrs. Schwab. High Representative Mogherini, good to see you here. Ministers, ambassadors, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to first of all express my deepest gratitude to His Majesty, King Abdullah, and to the World Economic Forum for their kind invitation to participate in this highly relevant and repeated summit. It is truly a great honor to be with you all here today. His Majesty knows well and is a great part of the long friendly and fruitful relations that bring the kingdom of Spain and the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan so close, as close as to consider that our respective royal families are tied by a strong and rewarding bond, familial bond. Indeed, I think we all appreciate the important meaning. Sorry, I do feel very privileged to be here beside Your Majesty and Queen Rania and to address the opening ceremony of this World Economic Forum meeting. You host here since a few years in the Jordan Valley by the Dead Sea. Allow me to congratulate you for your leadership in making this once again a key moment of the ongoing debates focused on the Middle East and North Africa that take place worldwide. This great meeting also owes tribute, of course, to the hard work and good work of Professor Schwab and his team in partnership with the KFT King Abdullah Fund for Development. So I'm quite sure of its success. It is also a great opportunity to accompany all new heads of state and government ministers, high representatives, members of the business and social civil society of this region. But allow me to highlight the fact that in this opening ceremony, in this plenary, we've had the enormous privilege and opportunity under this title of enabling generational transformation to listen to His Royal Highness Prince Hussain bin Abdullah's speech this morning. I think indeed, we all appreciate the important meaning of young Prince Hussain's participation representing the very next generation, the one we all need to work for and with today to help provide with greater hope and real opportunities for a better future in the region. Thank you, Your Highness, for your words of inspiration and leadership. And thank you, Your Majesties, for making us witness of Crown Prince Hussain's strong commitment. One of the constant ambitions of Spanish foreign policy has been to foster the cooperation between Europe and the Middle East and North African region. My presence here today bears testimony of how much we cherish this forum as a unique opportunity to advance this cooperation. In 2011, my father took part in this great forum and since then, of course, many things have happened. Many things have indeed changed in our world and especially in this region. We are facing very serious crises that challenge the very foundations of the world order. That is, with no doubt, indeed, of improvements and transformations, to say the least, but that is also based on highly valued principles, the sovereignty and independence of states, the respect of human rights and the benefits of free trade and the mobility of people, of persons. Also in my country, many things have happened, but most importantly, we have overcome the worst of a serious economic crisis. Thanks to the shared efforts of our countrymen and women and our institutions, the Spanish economy is now growing at a good and solid pace while steadily creating unemployment. So I am pleased to say that we're now ready and willing to strengthen our cooperation with all our partners in the Middle East, in the quest for a better future for the region and for the whole of humanity. So I am fully convinced that if we join forces with a determination, especially those of us who share this vast world around the Mediterranean in the West and in the East and understand our true potential and common stakes, we can finally look ahead with well-founded optimism and honestly say to our youth, yes, it is possible and worth their effort. Yes, there is hope. Yes, we are taking on our responsibility and yes, we are doing the best we can. And Jordan, my dear friends, is clearly setting an example and showing us the way. First, by behaving with generosity and hosting such a huge number of refugees, once again, that have been tragically obliged to leave their homes because of war and despair. Also by acting with bravery, reading the fight against those whose only argument is terror and represent the common enemy for us all. And finally, by preserving in its persevering, in its message of peace, dialogue and the pursuit of an inclusive and sustainable development. Your Majesty, we think, we thank you deeply for continuing this tradition of the Hashemite monarchy, a tradition of bravery, generosity and tolerance. Furthermore, Jordan is an example of constructive engagement with the whole international community. In Spain, we know it well. We highly appreciate our strong bilateral ties and our shared determination to enhance our fruitful economic cooperation. Spanish companies are here to stay, wishing to be part of a bright future for this country. They are, I am pleased to say, already present in Jordan and growing in numbers. Certainly in the energy sector, but also companies that have a great interest in areas such as desalination, water treatment and transport infrastructures. This forum provides us with the opportunity to share views and experiences, to work together in government, civil society and the private sector to create economic and social conditions for a wider and stronger shared prosperity. Shared prosperity. In our world today, security is a shared or common need. And we are constantly struggling to find the way to be more effective in providing it. We cannot isolate the threats and all the challenges we face, nor can we deal with them on our own. Since they are more pervasive and agile than ever, travel faster and ignore all national or regional boundaries. So likewise, we should really move ahead and find more powerful and adequate ways to also share prosperity, to find ways of cooperating more efficiently in economic and social development. And that of course will be the best way, the safest way to work for our long-term, greater common security. And the opportunities are right in front of us. There's clearly a new revolution. Your Highnesses obviously made a strong point on that, given your youth. Emerging from information and technological advances, which indeed can drive reforms and creativity. There's to a new generation, well-prepared, more open to the world, ready to work hard locally and globally for a better future. Let us accept the challenge of conceiving the Mediterranean and the larger Middle East region as a space of prosperity. There's certainly still a tough path ahead to tread, a dire need to do so. And of course, many obstacles that we should remove in equalities, ignorance, extremism are some of them. But we are entitled to look further. We owe it to a generation that will not accept the past as a barrier in their way to the future. Millions of youngsters are not only dreaming, but looking for a way to make their projects come true in a wide range of fields. Renewable energies, education technologies, biomedical research, sustainable tourism. As we meet here, young men and women in Barcelona, Aman, Cairo, Dubai, or Casablanca, is thinking on how to build his or her startup, where to compete his or her postgraduate studies, how to establish his or her small business or to improve his or her professional skills. They cannot wait for all the problems created by previous generations to be solved. One thing we know, the crucial role of education, it is clear that youth unemployment and lack of opportunities fuel frustration and anger. Finding the policies to the right policies to foster youth empowerment is not a simple task. This is why this forum widely recognized as a hub for sharing ideas and best practices can be so useful. Schools, universities, and research institutions should unleash the potential of our people. They need to be at the core of our policymaking in order for us to extend the limits of what we can achieve. International cooperation to favor student mobility between our countries is also essential. Development of effective policies in this area will not only increase the employability of young people, but will also create a stronger social contract for all. The future is embodied in these young boys and girls I have been referring to. Every time two or more of them meet, no matter if it is in the field of science, business, or leisure, something happens. A new building block is set to sustain the future we want for us and for our children. A new argument arises to support our conviction that the broad Mediterranean area, including all the Middle East, may indeed become, already today, not tomorrow, one of the most dynamic poles of the world. Jeroel Hynes, you represent hope. You have the benefit of the extraordinary legacy of the Hashemite Kings. And with your initiative, you have shown your will to follow that path. In August 2015, under your patronage, a global forum of youth, peace, and security was held in Amman for following the debate you presided in the Security Council in April of that same year. What an admirable task you are promoting. To partner with young people, to build lasting peace, prevent radicalism, and implement sustainable development goals. Much is at stake, and I wish you the very best in this endeavor and in your life. Your Majesty, your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, my country, Spain, with a long history behind, looks to the future with optimism. We want to continue building a stronger and better European Union, based on the respect for human dignity as the principle of principles, and based also on the conviction that united, we are stronger. We want to work together with the whole world, and especially with our friends in the Middle East and North Africa, to rise up to the challenges and seize the opportunities. Our youth is ready, our companies have accelerated the international expansion in the recent past, so they're eager and well-prepared. Let us join forces, defend our values, and together, build coalitions for peace and for inclusive development. I wish you all a very fruitful forum. Thank you, Jordan. Thank you, Your Majesties. I have now the pleasure to invite the President of Iraq to join us here to address us, and I would like to, probably on behalf of everybody, also to say Iraq is another sign of hope, the progress which has been made under your leadership in pacification of the country, rolling back extremism, so we are all looking forward to your address, Mr. President. Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. In the name of God, all merciful, all compassionate, Your Royal Highness, Your Majesty, King Abdullah II, King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Your Majesties, Your Highnesses, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, thanks to God and by virtue of the determination of Iraqis and their national unity, as well as the support of friendly countries, Iraq has achieved a decisive victory over terror, a victory that we hope will be culminated in the next few days by the complete liberation of Mosul and the last stronghold of Daesh in Nineveh. As we hope to turn the page of Daesh completely during this year, Iraqis still need to work diligently and confidently as of now to achieve success in the battle for reconstruction, a battle that is no less difficult or complicated than the war over terror. There is no doubt that we will give priority to the repatriation of the internally displaced and the reconstruction of the areas that have been liberated where all aspects of life have been almost completely destroyed. Our country is currently developing ambitious and comprehensive plans to reinstate stability and services and to strengthen the infrastructure in those areas with the help of our friends in the international community who have given us a lot of military and humanitarian support in the war against terror. As we greatly appreciate the supportive stance of our friends, the donor countries and international organizations supportive of Iraq, most prominent of which was the World Bank and the IMF and other international organizations, we assert that we need their support to expedite the completion of projects pertaining to the reconstruction of Iraq as well as economic and administrative development and plans for social reconciliation in addition to promoting the democratic system that gives priority to servicing the citizen and removing obstacles and issuing responsible legislation and streamlining procedures as well as fighting corruption and facilitating mechanisms for introducing modern technology. And promoting partnership with the private sector and its development. All of these are as objectives in and of themselves. Our country is open to all investors who wish to contribute to the process of building and reconstruction of Iraq. The Iraqi investment law and its rules and regulations provide all guarantees and privileges for investors from all over the world. In addition to the fact that we have signed international agreements that guarantee the rights of investors. Iraq is keen on the participation of countries of the world in its steady efforts to achieve sustainable development at the same time as it works towards improving economic health and educational sectors and to guarantee an environment that is conducive and supportive of liberties and human rights and equality and the active and effective contribution of women in the state and society. This is why we give a special importance to attending this world economic forum on the Middle East and North Africa to benefit from all the ambitious ideas that will be presented during this forum as well as realistic and effective strategies in the economic, political, social and cultural spheres. Iraq is planning to implement strategic programs to develop human resources, particularly for women and youth. Really and urgently needs to benefit from every opportunity to achieve development in these fields. The theme of generational transformation for the future, which is the theme of this world economic forum, summarizes the main concern for our country today, especially given its highly complex requirements as well as growing challenges on the national, regional and international levels to actually succeed in empowering youth and enabling them to create their future and to support and stimulate the capacities for comprehensive growth for all social sectors, especially the new generation, in addition to the diligent and vigorous keeping up to date with all the new developments of the world economy, including information technology. In conclusion, I salute his majesty, King Abdullah II, for providing this conducive environment for hosting such a meeting. And I wish this ambitious forum every success. I hope to God that he will give us success and guide us in the right direction for the good of our people. And I thank the organizers of this forum. Peace be upon you and God's blessings. I now have the pleasure and honor of asking you. It is now a great pleasure and honor for me to ask the president of Niger to join me on the podium. Fighting, as you all know, terrorism, which is not just an issue of this region, but affects very much your country, so we are looking forward to your speech. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Majesty, Abdullah II, King of Jordan. Majesty, Felipe VI, King of Spain. Majesty, Queen Rania, Abdullah. Ladies and gentlemen, heads of states and governments, ladies and gentlemen. First and foremost, I should like to congratulate their Majesties, King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Abdullah, as well as the government of Jordan. I should like to congratulate them for hosting this very important meeting of the World Economic Forum. A meeting devoted to the Middle East and North Africa. This initiative bears witness to Jordan's commitment to international cooperation and to the promotion of peace and development globally, as well as in the Middle East, North Africa, subregion in particular. I should also like to congratulate the organizers of the present forum, in particular, Professor Klaus Schwab for the relevance of the topics he has offered for discussion. These topics tie in directly with the social political situation of the subregion. I'm referring here to domestic crises and conflicts, undermining certain states. I'm referring to the humanitarian challenge these conflicts give rise to. I am referring to the difficulty in creating jobs in a region where the young represent the majority of the population as well as to climate change. How, in such a context, can we bring about an environment which is conducive to generational transformation? Ladies and gentlemen, generational change or transformation necessarily calls for peace and security worldwide. It must be noticed that the Middle East, North Africa and the Sahel region to which my country, Niger, belongs are unfortunately wracked by conflicts some decades old. The situation has in fact worsened these past years with the intervention of non-state terrorist, criminal organizations, movements which focus on identity and which are centrifugal forces. We must rapidly put an end to these conflicts and that is precisely what we are endeavoring to do in Niger where we have to face the consequences of the chaos in Libya, the worsening of the security situation in the north of Mali and in the region around Lake Chad. Whether it is in Libya, in Mali, in the Lake Chad basin in Iraq, in Syria and Yemen, we consider that our struggle against terrorism goes hand in hand with our struggle against criminal organizations which traffic in drugs, arms and migrants. In Niger, we are battling all these threats simultaneously and I am convinced we will have the upper hand. Regarding terrorism in particular, we will defeat it. That is a sure thing because the Muslim populations in Africa, just as in the Middle East, are standing by us in this struggle. The Muslims in Niger, for example, know that Islam is a religion which advocates the middle way, the happy medium. Islam does not like violence, our population knows it. One says that fitna is worse than murder. Islam says that to kill a single innocent person amounts to killing all of mankind. The fact our people are at one with us in our fight against terrorism is the overarching guarantee of the fact that we will be victorious. Ladies and gentlemen, in order to facilitate generational change, it is necessary to emphasize alleviating poverty and inequalities. Poverty and inequalities which are the bedrock of terrorism everywhere. We believe that education is the best way to fight against inequalities and poverty. That is why in Niger, we have made free schooling mandatory up to the age of 16. That is why we have also set ourselves the aim of promoting vocational and technical training in particular for young girls. Education, vocational and technical training will make it possible for us to best use the demographic structure of our countries where young people are in the majority. Our demographic assets will yield economic dividends. To achieve our objectives, we intend to seize the opportunities offered by the digital revolution which encourages innovation and entrepreneurship. Over and above education, we also want to adopt new measures in the field of telemedicine, for example, and smart agriculture. Niger is, in fact, a member of the Alliance called Smart Africa, an alliance which brings together all African countries in order to best use the possibilities offered by the digital revolution in particular for the purpose of restructing our economy. Ladies and gentlemen, in Niger, we wish to establish a business-friendly environment. We are the sub-Saharan country in Africa which has undertaken the most far-reaching changes to this end in 2016. In fact, we're convinced that the private sector is one of the forces of change, the change we wish for. Our economies need more direct foreign investments in particular in infrastructure. A framework for public-private partnerships has been set up in order to put to better use not only our natural resources, uranium, gold, oil, and others, but also our agricultural, our animal husbandry sector, and our industrial potential. All these measures will make it possible for us to further grow our economy, whose growth rate has on average been of 6% in the past five years. Generally speaking, West Africa is enjoying just now sustained growth, which leads me to say that Africa is the continent of tomorrow. You should therefore believe in Africa and come to Africa in order to invest in Africa. Ladies and gentlemen, the war in Iraq, in Libya, in Syria, in Yemen, in the Sahel region has affected many millions, causing unprecedented humanitarian disasters. With poverty and climate change, these wars have triggered the migratory flows and humanitarian tragedies we now witness. In Niger, for example, we have welcomed on our national territory several hundred thousand refugees and displaced persons. Being a transit country, we have also seen several thousand migrants die in the desert, to which must be added those who drown in the Mediterranean. Faced with this tragedy, Niger has drawn up and implemented a plan to combat irregular migration, which comprises both security measures and measures to promote economic and social development. The international community must therefore organize as wide-ranging a solidarity movement as possible in favor of the victims of all humanitarian disasters we witness today in the Sahel region and in the Middle East. But over and above these urgent aspects, it is our duty to tackle the deeper roots of such tragedies, inter alia by means of a fairer and more humane global political and economic governance system. And here I would like to say that it is regretful that the promise made 50 years ago to devote 0.7% of donor countries GDP to public development assistance has not been abided by. Today, transit countries and the countries from which migrants originate need, first and foremost, investments. It is in this way that we will be able to ensure that would-be migrants will remain in their country of origin. Otherwise, the further development of free flow, of goods, services and capitals, the further globalization through means of transport and new information and communication technologies will heighten the migratory problem. I am convinced that meetings organized by the World Economic Forum will be able to sway opinion in this direction. And I would once again like to congratulate the organizers of this meeting. And I should like to thank again, Majesty King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Abdullah for their very generous hospitality. Thank you for your attention. This concludes our opening session. It will be followed in 10, in five minutes, in five minutes with a exciting session on innovative Jordan. So if you stay in the room and we will continue in five minutes. Thank you again, Your Majesty. Thank you, Jordan. Thank you for making it possible to have this great event here. Thank you.