Executive retreat to be held in Oman

The first Middle East executive retreat will be held at the Judge Institute of Management, Cambridge University's business school, from June 19 to 22, with the themes covered relevant to decision-makers in this region. "Economic reforms are needed in the Middle East," Dr Yezyid Sayigh, consulting senior fellow for the Middle East at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London, and a key speaker at the retreat, told Gulf News. "Governments must have a clear vision of their objectives and of their way of achieving those objectives. Turning vision into reality requires sustained political will.

"The availability (or not) of additional resources, such as windfall hydrocarbon export revenues, allow some Middle East countries to cushion their public during the transition, so long as they actually pursue well thought-out and determined reforms and attempt to limit the extent to which income disparities widen."