During the last day of the ERF 17th Conference, we had the great pleasure and opportunity to record a short interview with Mr. Abdlatif Al-Hamad, ERF Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development.
In the video below, Mr. Al-Hamad reflects on the importance of the Economic Research Forum and the role it can play in the context of the recent developments in the Arab region.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkXxYv9gJJM]
For Mr. Al-Hamad, who has been associated with ERF since its foundation, the institution is a very important actor in the Arab region: ERF is in fact a unique organisation which overlaps the whole Arab world, Turkey and Iran. It can foster mutual learning and knowledge sharing among the different countries, and leverage the complementarity that exists in the region as a whole. ERF should continue in its excellent effort of bringing relevant research to the region. In the context of the recent developments in the Arab world, Mr. Al-Hamad underlines that ERF can facilitate the process of "gearing our minds and resources" to understand these events and prioritize the research agenda. This way the Economic Research Forum can continue and step up his relevance for the region.