DAVOS: President Donald Trump lived up to his reputation as a business-focused politician with a special address to the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos that concentrated on his achievements in economic and financial policy — especially the big tax cuts he has brought in.
He told a packed gathering of business leaders and policymakers that his policies had led to strong economic growth and to stock markets “smashing all records.”
“There has never been a better time to invest in the USA. America is open for business, and now is the perfect time to bring business, jobs and investment to the US,” he told them.
“We have created $7 trillion dollars worth of wealth on the stock markets, and created 2.4 million new jobs in the US,” he said.
The president said that he had “revived the American dream after years of stagnation,” and that his policies had led to the lowest unemployment rates for African, Hispanic and female Americans. He said his tax cuts had increased household incomes “by thousands of dollars” in the US.
In a question session after his address with Klaus Schwab, executive chairman and founder of the WEF, Trump revealed that he had dinner in Davos with 15 business leaders who had “become friends” after he explained his economic policies to them. Some had promised to bring “billions of dollars” back to the US as investment.
He singled out Apple as a company that was going to repatriate $350 billion of funds held in overseas, more tax-efficient jurisdictions. “They (the dinner invites) are putting in money. I didn’t know them before but now they are friends.”
He said that tax reform had been a “dream” of American presidents for nearly 40 years, since President Reagan last undertook a major overhaul of the system.
Much of his address concentrated on the performance of the American economy and stock markets since he became president a year ago. He said that this was because he had reduced regulatory and bureaucratic obstacles to doing business.
“Regulation is stealth taxation. We have teams of unelected bureaucracy who are crushing business,” he said.
Trump said that he had pledged to scrap two regulations for every one he introduced, but in fact had managed to eliminate 22 for each new law.
He also said that his administration had lifted self-imposed restrictions on the energy industry, because “no country should be held hostage over energy.”
Some analysts had forecast a hostile reception and even an organized walkout when the president began speaking, but the delegates mostly listened in silence and gave polite applause at the end.
There were signs of hostility on only two occasions. Some attendees murmured aloud when Schwab, introducing Trump, said that he had been the victim of “misconception and biased interpretation.”
The media contingent in the Davos audience also voiced their disapproval when Trump said that he had always had a good press as a businessman but that since he had become president the media had become “nasty, mean, vicious and fake.”
Donald Trump tells Davos: ‘Now is the perfect time to invest in America’
Donald Trump tells Davos: ‘Now is the perfect time to invest in America’
Saudi Arabia’s cultural sector is a new economic engine between Riyadh and Paris, says ambassador
RIYADH: Culture has become a fundamental pillar in bilateral relations between France and Saudi Arabia, according to the French Ambassador to the Kingdom, Patrick Maisonnave.
Maisonnave noted its connection to the entertainment and tourism sectors, which makes it a new engine for economic cooperation between Riyadh and Paris.
He told Al-Eqtisadiah during the opening ceremony of La Fabrique in the Jax district of Diriyah that cultural cooperation with Saudi Arabia is an important element for its attractiveness in the coming decades.
La Fabrique is a space dedicated to artistic creativity and cultural exchange, launched as part of a partnership between the Riyadh Art program and the French Institute in Riyadh.
Running from Jan. 22 until Feb 14, the initiative will provide an open workspace that allows artists to develop and work on their ideas within a collaborative framework.
Launching La Fabrique as a space dedicated to artistic creativity
The ambassador highlighted that the transformation journey in the Kingdom under Vision 2030 has contributed to the emergence of a new generation of young artists and creators, alongside a growing desire in Saudi society to connect with culture and to embrace what is happening globally.
He affirmed that the relationship between the two countries is “profound, even cultural par excellence,” with interest from the Saudi side in French culture, matched by increasing interest from the French public and cultural institutions unfolding in the Kingdom.
Latest estimates indicate that the culture-based economy represents about 2.3 percent of France’s gross domestic product, equivalent to more than 90 billion euros ($106.4 billion) in annual revenues, according to government data. The sector directly employs more than 600,000 people, making it one of the largest job-creating sectors in the fields of creativity, publishing, cinema, and visual arts.
Saudi Arabia benefiting from French experience in the cultural field
Maisonnave explained that France possesses established cultural institutions, while Saudi Arabia is building a strong cultural sector, which opens the door for cooperation opportunities.
This comes as an extension of the signing of 10 major cultural agreements a year ago between French and Saudi institutions, aiming to enhance cooperation and transfer French expertise and knowledge to contribute to the development of the cultural system in the Kingdom.
He added that experiences like La Fabrique provide an opportunity to meet the new generation of Saudi creators, who have expressed interest in connecting with French institutions and artists in Paris and France.
La Fabrique encompasses a space for multiple contemporary artistic practices, including performance arts, digital and interactive arts, photography, music, and cinema, while providing the public with an opportunity to witness the stages of producing artistic works and interact with the creative process.
