Over 1,200 political and business leaders from 46 countries are expected to attend a World Economic Forum (WEF) conference slated for May 20-22 in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, the organizer said on Monday.

In a press release sent to Xinhua, the WEF organizer said that worldwide participants look to use the opportunity to help prepare the way for a prosperous and peaceful future for the Middle East under the theme of "The Promise of a New Generation."

Participants will look at the role of business as the engine of job creation and the need for leaders to work together for peace and stability, it said.

"The World Economic Forum on the Middle East comes at a crucial time in the region for so many reasons, but if the future is to be secure both for the Middle East and for the rest of the world, it is to the next generation that we need to deliver," WEF President Klaus Schwab said.

Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said that the WEF meeting on the Middle East will be held when the region is going through a transformation -- from economic growth to democratization and human development.

"This meeting will be a chance to facilitate meaningful dialogue on a wide variety of issues including the global business agenda. Sharm el-Sheikh has gained international recognition as a city of peace," said Nazif.

The WEF meeting comes after five suicide bomb attacks hit Egypt 's Sinai peninsula in late April-- three rocked the southern Sinai resort of Dahab on April 24 and two occurred at al-Gurah in northern Sinai on April 26.

The Dahab bombings killed 20 people, including six foreigners, and injured some 90 others, while the al-Gurah bombings killed no one but the two bombers themselves.

Despite the terror attacks, the WEF refused to change the venue of Sharm el-Sheikh, another Sinai resort located some 85 km south of Dahab.

Source: Xinhua