Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor welcomed a World Economic Forum (WEF) delegation from Geneva, Switzerland at the Al Habtoor Group head office. The delegation included George Karam, Head of Middle East and North Africa, Business Engagement; Remy Duverney, Community Lead, Business Engagement and Adrienne D’Arenberg, Head of Family Business community. Also present was Mohammed Al Habtoor, Vice Chairman & CEO, Al Habtoor Group and Abdul Salam Al Marzooqi, General Manager of Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor Foundation.
They discussed collaboration between Khalaf Al Habtoor, a vocal speaker on regional politics and international affairs, and the World Economic Forum, an international organisation for public-private cooperation that is committed to improving the state of the world. The meeting came on heels of WEF’s Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils in Dubai on 13- 14 November. The group also discussed the upcoming World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, which will be held in January 2017. The meeting gathers the world’s top leaders to discuss global challenges.
Chairman Al Habtoor said his priority is to focus on poverty alleviation, which he sees as the biggest threat to the world today. “Terrorism stems from poverty,” he said. “If we tackle poverty then the world will be a much safer place.”
At a speech in Washington DC in October at the 25th Annual Arab-US Policymakers Conference Al Habtoor pledged $20 million to kick start a poverty alleviation initiative. He invited other philanthropists around the world to match his pledge. “It is time to stop talking politics and let us focus and deal with the real problems threatening our world today,” he said in his speech.