Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 06/2009

Managing Arab Sovereign Wealth in Turbulent Times—and Beyond

Sven Behrendt, Bassma Kodmani

April 2009

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Abstract

Western political and economic leaders, seeking desperately needed capital for their faltering economies, have put aside many of their concerns over Arab sovereign wealth funds (SWFs). But the Arab world is questioning the wisdom of building its financial future on the shaky foundations of Western economies, and increasingly focusing on the development and diversification of its own economies. In this Carnegie Paper, produced in cooperation with the Arab Reform Initiative, editors Sven Behrendt and Bassma Kodmani, and a group of Arab economists, discuss the economic, political, and social influences that will determine Arab funds’ investment behavior in the years to come.