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The Annual Arab Banking Conference 2008 |
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Phoenicia Intercontinental Hotel – Beirut, Lebanon
November 13, 2008 - November 14, 2008
Under the Auspices of His Excellency the president of the council of Ministers H.E. Mr. Fouad Siniora
Union of Arab Banks in collaboration with Banque Du Liban and in partnership with World Union of Arab bankers organizes: The Annual Arab Banking Conference 2008 "Investment in Stability"
13-14 November 2008, Phoenicia Intercontinental Hotel – Beirut, Lebanon
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 Print Details
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| BACKGROUND |
International experiences throughout the past four decades have proven that all countries which have achieved substantial growth either in its annual average rates or through the depth and diversity of growth between the various economic sectors, depended primarily on the inflow of the Foreign Direct Investments either through the real side of the economy represented in enterprises working according to the most up-to-date international standards and competing in the international market, or through the financial and monetary side of the economy represented by institutions able to perform its role as investment banks.
Worthy to be mentioned that the stability by its comprehensive sense is the common attribute that countries, which achieved marked progress are having. It goes without saying that stability leads to a boost among the investor's trust in his investments' future and presence in this country or that. The comprehensive stability encompass, in addition to sustainability, economic, financial, monetary, judicial, security and geopolitical factors that create the suitable atmosphere for foreign and internal investments as witnessed in China, India and other countries which have invested for tens of years in stability before achieving the positive targeted goals.
During the last few years, the Arab countries have marched in the stability track after it was noted for more than four decades as the least region in growth rate on the economical front in spite of its wealth in human resources and financial capabilities. Nevertheless, the most important missing factor was stability, which made the Arab countries in general the least attracting for investments up till a few years back.
The increased importance of the role of the private sector in investment in the Arab region throughout the past two decades, the governments' concern in supporting this role through investment encouragement strategies, and the interest in sound governance have drastically improved the investment atmosphere and increased the attractiveness to invest in the Arab world according to international institutions reports especially the World Bank and UNCTAD. The economic front has been prioritized among strategies of Arab countries which has made a big progress in the level of stability on the geopolitical arena. To the context of interpretation why Arab countries are lagging behind other regions, one should not ignore the circumstances related to foreign security in most of Arab countries; they essentially afflicted all factors and dimensions for investment in many of its countries. This is assumed to be the main reason for the lower rates of growth in the Arab world compared to other regions that are blessed with stability.
For this, the Arab kings and presidents have decided to allocate an Arab Summit for Economic Affairs that will be held in the first week of January 2009 in Kuwait state, for which the League of Arab States has been preparing to organize since the beginning of 2008. The Union of Arab Banks is among the participating institutions in this summit, and for that reason our conference 'Investment in Stability' comes as a preceding step to this summit through working papers and discussions that will be delivered. |
| CONFERENCE TOPICS |
1- Future of the Arab World in light of the expected stability
- Stability in its thorough comprehension
- The role of Inter-Arab economic cooperation
- The role of the private and public sectors
2- Regional mobilization in Stability-
- Pan-Arab Projects (electricity, gas, roads, etc…)
- Investment in the environment and renewable energies
3- Mutual reflections between investment and stability (Arab experiences)-
- Lebanese experience
- Emirati experience
- Egyptian experience
- Moroccan experience
- Sudanese experience
- Iraqi experience (Arbil)
4- Islamic finance and its role in the comprehensive Arab development
- The role of Islamic banks as a complimentary to the role of commercial banks in investment
- The role of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce & Industry in filling the Arab investment gap |
| CONFERENCE STRUCTURE |
- Keynote speeches presented by senior banking and government officials and leading economic experts from the regional and international financial community.
- Panel discussions moderated by senior bankers, investors, and economists thus allowing for more informative, in-depth and useful sessions.
- Workshops for more intimate, informal, and in-depth discussions, so as to encourage a more constructive dialogue between speakers and the audience.
- Exhibition for conference sponsors to establish and develop mutual interests among participating institutions and participants.
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| TARGETED PARTICIPANTS |
- Ministers of Economy, Trade and Finance
- Central Bank Governors
- Leaders of Banks and Financial Institutions
- Leaders of Economic Enterprises (oil, gas, telecom companies and others)
- Chairmen of Economic and Financial Organizations and Unions
- Businessmen and Investors
- Economists and Experts in Banking and Economic Fields
- Representatives of International Financial Institutions
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| SPONSORING INSTITUTIONS |
- Banks and Financial Institutions
- Investment Funds and Companies
- ICT Companies
- Credit Cards and Payment Companies
- Insurance Companies and Pension as well as Investment Funds
- Oil, Gas, Manufacturing, Tourism Companies and Others
- Media Institutions
- Airline Companies
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DIC Data and Information Center ãÑßÒ ÇáÈíÇäÇÊ æÇáãÚáæãÇÊ |
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STRATEGIC SPONSOR |
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Dictionary of Basic Banking Terminology |
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Credit Risk Management The Arts and Sciences |
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