Middle East and North African finance leaders conclude major gathering

More than 80 heads of the region's banks, senior public sector officials and, leaders of financial services firms from Europe and the United States, participated in the 10th annual meeting of Middle Eastern and North African Bank Chief Executives hosted by the Qatar National Bank (QNB) in association with the Institute of International Finance (IIF). The conference was held under the auspices of His Excellency Yousef Hussain Kamal, Minister of Finance, State of Qatar.

Mr. Ali Shareef Al-Emadi, Acting Chief Executive, Qatar National Bank, stated at the conclusion of the meeting: "We are most appreciative of the outstanding speeches, discussions, and presentations that we have heard at this gathering and I particularly want to thank H.E. Yousef Hussein Kamal, Qatar's Minister of Finance, and H.E. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Saud Al-Thani, Governor of the Qatar Central Bank, for their contributions at the outset of our deliberations."

Mr. Al-Emadi said, "We have learned a great deal in these two days and we can look with confidence to the future. While there are always vulnerabilities on the economic stage, we are now witnessing economic dynamism in the Gulf, which is seeing major investments that are establishing a diverse and solid base for the future. We have also considered at our meeting the challenges that face our region's financial institutions. We have noted significant progress in the technological development of our banks and in their rapid expansion of cross-border business. Very importantly, the exchange of views at our meeting leave us all with a sense of confidence that there is a most constructive determination on the part of financial services firms, official institutions and regulatory authorities, to work together to forge a modern financial architecture in our region."

Mr. Ibrahim Dabdoub, Chief Executive Officer of the National Bank of Kuwait and a member of the IIF's Board of Directors, noted, "The IIF has played a most important leadership role in organizing the gatherings of chief executives, which have become increasingly productive and have provided a unique forum for a substantive exchange of views among the leaders of finance in the Middle East. Starting with the first CEO Forum in 1997 in Kuwait, these conferences have attracted a rising number of leaders as modernization and internationalization of banking in our region has become a major priority. I have been a member of the IIF's Board of Directors for many years and I am delighted with the strength of the IIF's commitment to our region's financial development."

The IIF, headquartered in Washington DC, USA, is the global association of financial institutions with more than 360 members from across the world. IIF Managing Director Charles Dallara said, "This has been an excellent gathering. A key theme of our discussion related to the Institute's proposal for a Strategic Dialogue on Effective Regulation of financial institutions. Participants agreed on the importance of greater consistency in global regulatory standards and commended the authorities in the region for their openness to engaging in a dialogue on means of enhancing the effectiveness of regulation. This is especially important as banks prepare for the implementation of Basel II, a new approach to determining capital requirements in banks around the world. During the meeting we also had a constructive exchange of views on the growing importance of Islamic finance."

Commenting on the discussions of the Gulf region's economy, Mr. Howard Handy, IIF Counsellor and Director for the Middle East and Africa, said, "Naturally, everyone is acutely sensitive to the difficult political developments facing a number of countries in the Middle East at this time. Nevertheless, we are seeing a boom in infrastructure investment in the Gulf that involves hydrocarbons/petrochemicals and tourism. We have also noted the rise in importance of intraregional GCC investment, remittances and tourism. Moreover, we have also seen how economies in the region, such as those of Egypt, Jordan and the Maghreb, have benefited from economic reform, diversification and external trade."

Mr. Handy stated that, "As we look ahead we anticipate that strong economic conditions will prevail for some time in the Gulf, even if there is some weakening of oil prices. While non-oil sectors appear poised for sustained growth, we continue to see oil being the key to the economic dynamism for some time to come. It should be noted that we also see the substantial build-up in net foreign asset positions of GCC public and private sectors, which are in excess of $1 trillion or 130 percent of GDP, providing an important cushion for adverse shocks."

Speakers at the meeting included: H.E. Yousef Hussain Kamal, Minister of Finance, State of Qatar; H.E. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Saud Al-Thani, Governor of Qatar Central Bank; Ali Shareef Al-Emadi, Acting Chief Executive, Qatar National Bank; Charles Dallara, Managing Director, IIF; Ibrahim Dabdoub, Chief Executive Officer, National Bank of Kuwait; Hassan Abdalla, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Arab African International Bank; William McDonough, Vice Chairman and Special Advisor to the Chairman, Merrill Lynch; Jonathan Chenevix-Trench, Chairman, Morgan Stanley International Limited; and Henry Azzam, Founder and CEO Amwal Invest and Chairman, Dubai International Financial Exchange. A full list of participating institutions is attached.

The 11th annual meeting of CEOs will take place at the end of February, 2008, in Dubai and will be hosted by the Dubai International Financial Center in conjunction with the IIF.