Their Majesty King Abdullah and Queen Rania arrived Thursday in Davos to take part in the World Economic Forum (WEF).

On the sidelines of the forum, King Abdullah held talks today with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on developments in the Palestinian territories.

The King, meanwhile, discussed with Cisco CEO John Chambers the development of the Jordan Education Initiative and cooperation between the public and the private sectors.

Under the theme “The Shifting Power Equation”, the January 24-28 forum was to bring together more than 2,000 leaders from business, politics, academia and civil society to debate the key “elements that will shape the global agenda in 2007”.

During the gathering, King Abdullah will deliver an address on challenges facing the Middle East region, foremost of which is the Palestinian-Israeli struggle.

The King's speech will also include suggestions on ways to arrive at regional progress and prosperity.

In addition, the King will highlight the importance of exchanging expertise and building partnerships.

King Abdullah was scheduled to meet with several leading political and media figures, in addition to chief executive officers of major international companies.

Jordan will once again host the WEF on the Middle East in May, held under the theme “Harnessing Diversity for a Common Future”.

The forum, the fourth to be held at the Dead Sea, will focus on the emergence of new “high-growth” industries and their capacity to have a major impact on the economic growth of the region, particularly job creation.

The meeting will also provide a forum for dialogue between Islam and the West, according to the WEF, with discussion issues covering topics ranging from social and moral questions to political development and security issues.

The WEF, founded in 1971 by Klaus M. Schwab, is an independent international organisation committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industrial agendas.

The Jordan Times