The cross-impact of two important trends holds the potential to transform the economic future of the Middle East and its millions of people. On one hand, countries are pushing to diversify their economies beyond reliance on hydrocarbon revenues. At the same time, between today and 2040, the transition of the MENA youth bulge to middle-age and retirement age diverts governments’ attention from supporting economic innovation and job creation, toward increased social spending for healthcare and pension funding.

What will be the region’s key engines of growth in the future? This panel will focus on how digital and other Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies will be one vital element of the region’s economic diversification. What bold policy, investment, R&D, cross-border collaboration, and other initiatives would enable the rise of industries empowered by these technologies? What will governments, industry leaders, and others do to create the jobs of the future, and the conditions necessary for the digital workforce of the future to develop and thrive?