23-Oct-2014
Abu-Ghazaleh Invited to Join the Bretton Woods Committee
Honorary co-chairs Presidents
George Bush and Jimmy Carter
Abu-Ghazaleh Invited to Join the
Bretton Woods Committee
WASHINGTON, D.C
----
October 23, 2014 --- HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, chairman of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh
Organization (TAG-Org), was invited to become a member of the Bretton Woods
Committee.
With its Honorary Co-Chairs
President George Bush and President Jimmy Carter, the Bretton Woods Committee
has been - for over thirty years - the nonpartisan network of prominent global
citizens, which works to demonstrate the value of international economic
cooperation and to foster strong, effective international financial
institutions (IFIs) as forces for global well-being.
Members of the Committee, who
are being selected by invitation only, are leaders at the top of the business,
academic and non-profit sectors; they are influencers from every region of the
world, including industry CEOs, international policymakers, and former US
Cabinet officials and lawmakers, they champion efforts to spur economic growth,
alleviate poverty, and advance worldwide financial stability.
Being recognized as one of the
most influential leaders in the Arab world and on the international scene, with
lifetime achievements, distinctions and outstanding contributions to education,
accountancy, intellectual property, business administration and management,
commerce, ICT, science and technology, law and related fields, the Committee expressed
its belief that Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh’s membership constitutes a “valuable addition”
to the Committee.
President Gerald R. Ford was the
past honorary co-chair of the Committee created in 1983 at the suggestion of
two former Treasury officials - Secretary Henry Fowler and Deputy Secretary
Charls Walker, who saw the need for an organized effort to ensure that leading
citizens spoke about the importance of the IFIs. Other prominent Committee
members include Paul A. Volcker, James D. Wolfensohn, William E. Frenzel, Jim
Kolbe in addition to others.
The Bretton Woods institutions were
created in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire in 1944 at the United Nations Monetary
and Financial Conference, during which a family of institutions to address
critical issues in the international financial system were created, these
institutions included: International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group,
International Finance Corporation (IFC), and World Trade Organization among
others.
The Bretton Woods Committee
organizes frequent conferences, seminars, and educational activities. Many of
these events are designed to reach a broad public audience, while others offer
members the opportunity to provide important advice, support, and constructive
criticism to the management of the IFIs.
Through these activities, the
Committee aims to explore current issues in Finance, Development and Trade;
advance the evolution of the IFIs; educate and engage with lawmakers and
policymakers.
At its annual meetings, the
Committee assessed the priorities for the Bretton Woods institutions, the role
of the private sector in global development and finance, and US leadership
within the IFIs. Committee members engaged with a speaker lineup that included
former Federal Reserve Board of Governors Chairman Paul Volcker; IMF Managing
Director Christie Lagarde; World Bank President Jim Yong Kim; US Senator John
McCain; former PIMCO CEO Mohamed El-Erian; Citigroup Senior Advisor Bill
Rhodes; and Inter-American Development Bank President Alberto Moreno. Other
members include former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Dr. Lawrence H. Summers, and also several notable
national security, defense, and military experts such as Secretary James Baker,
Dr. Henry Kissinger, and General Brent Scowcroft.