GOIC and Summit Events to co-organize Petrochemical World Summit

The event in November 2009 will be held in the State of Qatar. H.E. Dr. Ahmed Khalil Al Mutawa, GOIC's Secretary General signed on behalf of the organization, with Mr. Will Morris, CEO of Summit Events.

The agreement comes within the frame of GOIC's attention to fostering the industrial sector and drawing the visions and tracks that industry should follow in the coming stage, specially as far as Petrochemical Industries are concerned.

Further to the special attention paid by GOIC to the importance of creating awareness and spreading knowledge and information relating to this industry in GCC member states through organizing events, activities, exhibitions, and conferences that focus on transferring knowledge, and introducing to the region the latest technical updates globally in terms of innovation of petrochemicals in downstream and end-user applications.

The conference is underscored by the importance of strengthening alliances between the Middle East and China, focusing in this regard, on combining the benefits of the Middle East's cheap feedstock costs and China's access to Asian markets.

In the last two decades, Petrochemical Industries in GCC member states witnessed an unpreceded phase of constant growth which is expected to continue in the same strength in the foreseeable future.

There is a widespread consensus among economic observers that the region is qualified for playing a leading role in the Petrochemical Sector in the 21st century.

It is expected that the volume of investments in this sector will elevate to $120bn in 2010. For example, the growth in the production of Ethylene, a basic petrochemical product, will be focused during in the next five years in the Middle East.

As a result, Ethylene production will double in 2010 in GCC member states and Iran, to amount to 20% of the global production capacity.

In the same context, statistics indicate that the rate of growth in the value of Gulf investments in chemicals and petrochemicals industry in the period 2000-2006 amounted to 5%, rising from some $52bn to some $70bn, thus representing a rate of 59% of the total GCC investments in manufacturing industries amounting to $118.3bn.

Also, the number of workers in this sector reached 163,134 workers in 2006, rising from 122,735 workers in 2000, i.e., a growth rate of 32.5% during the period.

GOIC, founded in 1976, targets developing industries throughout GCC by means of providing, both the industrial and economic sectors, with distinctive knowledge, consultancy and technical services. GOIC's mandate is to promote the highest levels of industrial cooperation and collaboration, in both the public and private sectors, by providing a complete set of high-quality, specialized research, information and consultancy services relating to industrial and economic development.

Being aware of the importance of spreading knowledge, and introducing latest technical updates in the world to the region, GOIC has conducted a number of leading conferences such as Knowledge-Based Industries and Nano Technology Conference, Industrialists Conference series, the international conference on Aid for Trade, not to mention all; further to a number of seminars, workshops, and continuously organized activities that target opening new horizons for industrialists and investors whether inside the region or foreign ones.

Summit Events have 22 years experience of delivering events in the region, and previously managed INTERPLAS, the UK's leading Plastics exhibition.