Director General Majlis Program hosts Singaporean Consul-General and senior BP advisor as keynote speakers

A total of 40 participants of the DG Majlis Program attended the session, which focused on the various challenges and opportunities in the Arab World as well as strategies for successful governance.

Sir Mark Allen, Senior Advisor of BP; and Dileep Nair, Consul-General of the Republic of Singapore, offered exclusive insights into successful leadership strategies, while sharing their extensive experience and expertise as senior executives in both the private and government sectors. A no-holds-barred Q&A session was likewise integrated into the one-day activity, enabling participants to actively interact and exchange ideas with the high-profile speakers.

"We are honoured to have Sir Mark Allen and Consul-General Dileep Nair to be the main speakers of the latest session of the DG Majlis Program; their inputs and examples were highly informative and offered an insightful look into various successful corporate and government strategies and how they fit into Dubai's own system. Through these periodic sessions, the DG Majlis Program is gradually fulfilling its mission of honing the skills and expertise of participants to prepare them for the various challenges faced by UAE Government officials,"

said Adel Al Shared, Manager of MBRPLD.

Mr. Hussein Lootah, Acting Director, Dubai Municipality, said:

"Gaining knowledge and learning from the experiences of internationally-renowned personalities is key to becoming a successful and ambitious leader, and MBRPLD helps us in achieving this by hosting famous speakers who have made a name for themselves in politics or business on a global scale. Participating in discussions like these help us better identify the indicators of institutional functions while being able to measure its impact with a clearer perspective. Just like the previous sessions and the sessions that we look forward to attend, the discussions with Sir Mark Allen and Consul-General Dileep Nair were very enriching and intellectually stimulating for all DG Majlis Program participants."

Sir Mark Allen, one of the world's pre-eminent Arabists and a 30-year veteran with the British Foreign Service, discussed during the session the 'Challenges and opportunities of the Arab World with a focus on Dubai.' Having studied Arabic at Oxford and worked in the diplomatic service from 1973 to 2004, Sir Mark has served in various countries in the Middle East including the UAE, Egypt and Jordan.

Consul-General Dileep Nair has a total of 35 years of senior-level management experience in the United Nations, banking industry and the Singapore Government. Before being appointed as Consul-General in Dubai in 2005, the former Managing Director of the Development Bank of Singapore was Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services at the United Nations from 2000 to 2005, advising former Secretary-General Kofi Annan on oversight issues and represented his office before the General Assembly and its subsidiary bodies.

The DG Majlis Program operates in line with the vision and directions of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai; the initiator of the MBRPLD initiative who has underscored the critical importance of a highly competent national professional workforce in the country's socio-economic development. Mohammed Bin Rashid Program for Leadership Development (MBRPLD) is a comprehensive professional development program that addresses the needs of prospective and incumbent leaders of the society.