'Forum on International Experiences in Industrial Clusters Development' to be held in June

The forum aims to explore various options and approaches in cluster development in a number of countries ranging from developed countries to developing economies.

This was stated by H.E. Dr. Lulwa bint Abdullah al-Misnad, Assistant Secretary General for Industrial Promotion and Investment in GOIC, and added: Clusters are defined as geographic concentrations of interconnected companies, specialised suppliers, service providers, firms in related industries, and associated institutions in particular fields that compete but also co-operate.

According to Dr. al-Misnad, globally, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) performing within clusters, have benefited from the creation of growth, competitiveness, networking and opportunities of investment. Some SME clusters have reached high levels of growth and leadership in profitable niches of world markets.

In the same press communiqué, Dr. al-Misnad noted that one of the outcomes of the forum, is that participants will have an insight into the challenges and gains in developing industrial clusters from other contexts and countries; learn from best practices and how they can be applied in their respective context.

It is worth mentioning that this forum comes within the key role played by GOIC and The Ministry of Energy and Industry in fostering industrial development and industrial diversification as well as meeting global standards within the GCC region. This mandate is represented in different forms of support provided to GCC industrial sector including training, technical assistance, specialized research, and others.