15
THIQAH Newsletter | Issue 1 | Quarter 4 - 2013
The UK Presidency of the G8, in association with the
Islamic Development Bank Group (IDBGroup) and the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(EBRD), have organized the G8 Deauville Partnership
Investment Conference on 16 September 2013 in
London. The conference brought together senior
government officials & Ministers, business leaders
and investors from across the G8, the Arab Countries
in transition and Deauville regional partners (Saudi
Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE and Turkey) along with
leaders of the International Financial Institutions (IFIs)
as well as CEOs of the IDB Group affiliates such as
(ICIEC, ICD and ITFC).
The opening keynote addresses were given by UK
Minister for Middle East, the Presidents of the Islamic
Development Bank Group (IDB Group) and the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(EBRD). This, along with the plenary session which
featured short country presentations by the six Arab
transition countries. A number of themed and sector
sessions have been taken place, featuring a range
of prominent speakers. These sessions featured a
mixture of presentations and focused discussion
with opportunities for questions. The closing session
address has been provided by the UK Minister for
International Development and the vice president,
MENA of the World Bank.
In his keynote speech, the IDB Group President,
Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali stated that
“Since 2011,
international financing institutions (IFIs) have
collectively committed in excess of $23 billion
of assistance to the Arab countries in transition,
including $5.8 billion from the IDB Group, in addition
to billions of dollars of bilateral assistance from Gulf
countries, Turkey and the G8. However, “we need
more than official aid to transform the economies
of these countries in transition, particularly the
involvement of the private sector which is the real
engine of growth”
. He assured the Arab Countries
in Transition that
“the IDB Group, along with other
IFIs, will be firmly by your side along this challenging
journey of socioeconomic transformation”.
The
President described the conference as an opportunity
for constructive dialogue among participants.
The main objectives of the conference is to provide
a platform for Arab transition country governments
in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to
showcase foreign direct investment opportunities
in their countries and highlight steps they are taking
to attract investment and to facilitate investment
networking opportunities between companies from
these countries and those from across the G8 and
Deauville regional partners (Saudi Arabia, Qatar,
Kuwait, UAE and Turkey), including those considering
but not currently operating in the transition countries.
It will also promote dialogue between investors,
governments and the International Financial
Institutions about challenges and policy barriers to
attracting greater investment.
G8 Deauville Partnership Investment
Conference, London (16/9/2013)
)
British Foreign Secretary and IDB Group President, Seek Support for Arab Countries inTransition
