Participants of Sharjah Tatweer Forum's Public Private Partnership program visit Sharjah Free Zone

The visit was to familiarize themselves with the economic and industrial infrastructure available in the Emirate of Sharjah, to meet with a number of international private sector companies operating in the SAIF Zone, and to gain a better understanding of the activities of these companies. Tatweer is an initiative formed by a decree issued by H.H. Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, that aims to develop the skills and competencies of national young leaders in Sharjah, foster partnerships between the private and public sectors, encourage entrepreneurship, innovation and excellence in business and administration and enhance Sharjah's competitiveness and sustainable development. .

During the visit, a detailed briefing was given by officials from the Marketing Department of the SAIF Zone on the various activities, operations and incentives provided to private investors. The Sharjah Airport Free Zone also provides a prominent example of the cooperation between the public and private sector. As part of their visit to the free zone, PPP participants also visited two leading private sector companies - WS Atkins and Clipsal - operating in the Free Zone to gain first hand knowledge about the working of private companies in a free zone.

Sharjah Tatweer Forum's strategy focuses on fostering and supporting private public partnerships to enhance the socio-economic growth and infrastructure of the Emirate of Sharjah and the country as a whole. This visit by participants, which represent both the government and the private sectors aims at providing a better understanding to the implementation of best practices in sectoral partnerships.

Hussain Al Mahmoudi, Chairman of Sharjah Tatweer Forum, said, "Tatweer believes in the importance of Public Private Partnership and the role it plays in the economic progress of the country. Further, close coordination between the public and private sectors have been known to promote policy areas such as education, health, technology, arts and culture, as well as industry and business."

"The SAIF Zone has played a pioneering role in creating ample opportunities for the development of private investments in Sharjah by providing easy access to land, sea and air transport at competitive prices, as well as facilitating the establishment of companies and complete ability to repatriate profits and earnings, labour importation and tax free operations. Apart from providing employment to thousands of individuals, the Free Zone offers world class facilities that promote greater productivity for companies across the industrial spectrum. This visit by the participants in the PPP Program will help them get a better understanding of the workings of the free zone, which in turn will help us jointly initiate highly focused developmental activities in future," added Al Mahmoudi.

In an effort to help private sector employees know how exactly public sector enterprises function and vice versa, the participants in the PPP went through a work exchange exercise during the month of January where a member of the private sector spent a day with a colleague from the government sector and then reversed roles on the next day.

In December of 2006, Tatweer launched the Private Public Partnership Programme in Sharjah with some 30 participants from both sectors to encourage the private sector to play a greater role in the economic and social activities in the Emirate and assist in building human capital. It also aims to promote closer working relationships and sharing of best practices between organisations from both public and private sectors. The programme is set to promote the emirate of Sharjah, establish better communication channels between public and private organisations and create an attractive working environment to attract regional and international investors.