Meeting the Challenges Together
Robin Lamb, Head of Business Development
Arab-British Chamber of Commerce
While the Arab world has not been immune to the effects of the global economic downturn, economies across the region are still expected to remain leading drivers of growth over the next few years. Some flagship projects in the construction and real estate sector were put on hold in early 2009, particularly in the Gulf, but by no means all and Arab budget spending is expected to remain high on areas such as education and training, food and agriculture, healthcare, IT, transport and tourism. According to Ernst & Young, the GCC countries alone are predicted to cumulatively earn $4.7 trillion in oil revenues by 2020 based on the OPEC target of $50 per barrel. Arab countries are therefore well-placed to capitalise on the new opportunities that are emerging and notwithstanding some concerns over issues related to the tightening of the credit markets and softening of property prices, their economies remain fundamentally strong.
Closer Links
The Arab-British Chamber of Commerce continues to work to develop closer links between Britain and its vital strategic partners in the Arab world. Under the theme of meeting the challenges together, the ABCC plans to hold the Arab-British Economic Forum in November 2009 to address some of the most promising areas for fostering partnership and cooperation between UK and Arab enterprises. The Forum will be a major event of the Britishbusiness calendar and is expected to attract substantial interest. It is being organised to assess the implications of the global economic downturn and worldwide capital constraints for the region but also to identify the continuing opportunities for trade and economic relations between Britain and the Arab world. The Forum will be held at theInterContinental Hotel, Park Lane, London on 2-3 November. The event will be the most ambitious venture undertaken by the ABCC in 2009 and follows on from several highly successful activities that the Chamber hasorganised in recent months. The Chamber's Export Clubs focus on individual Arab markets and have provedextremely popular with members – attendance has been consistently high. These events are organised in-house inpartnership with the Arab Embassies in London and the UKTI. They are traditionally followed by the equally popular networking events which allow representatives of member companies to interact with speakers and staff in an informal setting. The quality Arabic food and beverages usually provided are understood to be an additional attraction. One recent notable venture of this kind was a special seminar covering the Levant countries of Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. A full house at the Chamber's Mayfair premises gathered to hear Dr Afnan Al-Shuaiby, ABCC Secretary General & Chief Executive, open the proceedings which were chaired by Sir Alan Munro, one of the senior Directors of the ABCC. The high calibre panel of speakers on this occasion included the respective ambassadors for Syria and Jordan, H E Dr Sami Khiyami and H E Dr Alia Bouran, as well as the Charge d'Affaires for Lebanon, Mr Hassan Abbas. The diplomats were joined by the heads of the UKTI in the British Embassies of Amman, Damascus and Beirut: Sarah Hildersley, Ann Petrie and Marie-Louise Archer. Mr. George Asseily, Chairman of the Centre for Lebanese Studies and also a Director of the ABCC, completed a formidable line up of speakers. The forthcoming Forum meanwhile has the support of some of the leading commercial organisations in Britain and the Arab world. The Forum will consist of six sector-focused sessions and will address how Arab and British partners can do business despite the present ongoing global economic downturn.
Renewable Energy, Water and Environmental Sustainability
The session will review the impact of the downturn on regional investment and opportunities in renewable and other energy for power generation, water supply and sustainable design, particularly in the built environment.
Agriculture, Food and Fisheries
The Forum will address the opportunities for marrying British expertise, equipment and materials with the needs and ambitions of Arab producers and consumers in light of reduced food and agricultural input prices arising from the global economic downturn.
IT & Telecommunications
The Forum will review the status of the sector across the region, including cross-border growth and integration of networks, identify opportunities and discuss the prospect for new investment and strategies toward sustainable IT development in the Arab world in light of the global economic downturn.
Training & Education
Arab governments are likely to sustain vital investment in this sector during the global economic downturn to ensure that their national labour forces have the skills ready to capitalise on development and business opportunities when the world economy picks up. Considerable scope therefore remains for Arab/British cooperation at all levels of education, training and research.
Transportation
The Forum will review where regional plans stand in light of global capital and demand constraints, and the expertise, goods and services British companies operating in the sector can offer to support continuingdevelopment through a range of measures from efficient management and technology to public-private project (PPP) financing options.
Financial Services
The Forum will take stock of current financial conditions; the outlook for revived confidence in a revitalised international financial system; the easing of capital constraints and restored lending; and the implications for broader economic recovery. Discussion will include the role of Islamic finance.
One 2 One Meetings
Time has been built in to the conference programme to enable one-to-one meetings between delegates and on both days, private facilities will be available on request for discussion of specific opportunities andpartnerships. By bringing together top business, government, academic and cultural leaders, the Forum will act as a catalyst for change and facilitate economic collaboration, cultural dialogue and innovation. Through organising such ambitious events the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce is carrying out a vital task of strengtheningArab-British relations and it is a task that it is uniquely qualified in undertaking. Each of the Chamber's numerous activities, including the daily advice and support given to exporters and the information carried in its range of publications, is carefully focused to provide practical business information. In this way, the Chamber continues to fulfil its mission of promoting “friendship through trade” between UK and Arab business communities and by so doing, helps them to meet the economic challenges before them.
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