International experts and officials were to tackle more than 20 themes from building information technology industries, developing tourism, Arab banking, water management and attracting investments.

"The Middle East is ripe with business opportunities. But the lack of infrastructure has either hindered or constrained the development of several industries that could be significant growth engines for the region," a statement by the WEF said.

The day kicked off with a press conference bu US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Trade Representative Robert Zoellick to detail Washington's vision of a US-Arab free trade area.

The initiative proposed by US President George W. Bush is aimed at promoting stability and development in the Middle East through the creation of a free trade area over the next 10 years.

Most Arab states have voiced reservations over the plan, with Jordanian economist analyst Fahed Fanek describing it in a recent editorial as a "carrot to make up for the stick" after the US-led war on Iraq.

Monday's debates were also focussing on building an entrepreneurial leadership to promote communications and information technology -- one of the ambitions of Jordan's King Abdullah II.

Panel discussions would also deal with "what drives consumer demand in the Middle East" and how to build "the financial system as a driver of economic growth" in the region.

One session was set aside for making Arab banks "more innovative and competitive" and another would address how governments can "become more engaged in regulating their economies effectively".

Ways of bolstering tourism, which has lagged behind in the Middle East amid cancellations after the outbreak of the Palestinian intifada in September 2000, the terror attacks on the United States the following year and the war on Iraq, were also being discussed.

According to estimates the Middle East accounts for "only two percent of global tourist arrivals and revenues" despite being seen as the cradle of civilisations.

Women also had their day with a session devoted to ways of empowering them, securing roles for them in the private sector and what steps their governments can take to improve their conditions.

Perspectives for Palestinian-Israeli peace took center stage Sunday with the first high-profile meeting in six months of the international Middle East diplomatic quartet which drafted the "roadmap" to peace between the two sides.

Sunday also saw a meeting between UN Secretary of State Kofi Annan and the US overseer in Baghdad, during which Annan announced that a "preparatory conference" on post-war Iraq reconstruction will be held in New York next week.

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