Dubai Policy Watch hosts BP Special Advisor Sir Mark Allen

Guest speaker Sir Mark Allen, Senior Special Advisor for BP Group, provided key inputs on the Forum's theme "Challenges and Opportunities of the Arab World with a Focus on Dubai".

The event gave the participants a great chance to be engaged in an energetic Q&A session and benefit from the valuable experiences of Sir Allen in this category.

MBRPLD invited Sir Mark Allen to share his experiences as one of the world's pre-eminent Arabists and as an advisor to a leading multinational firm operating in the region.

Dubai Policy Watch, one of the periodic activities under the Government Leaders Program, a level of MBRPLD that aims to establish a new breed of elite, talented individuals with distinguished potentials, knowledge, skills and experience at all departments of Dubai Government, has been established to facilitate discussions on various challenges and opportunities faced by incumbent and future leaders and proponents of Sustainable Development.

"Sir Mark Allen offered remarkable insights. The knowledge and expertise he has gathered after over three decades of working with the British Foreign Service, particularly in the Middle East, has definitely made him one of the foremost experts in this category. It was indeed a privilege for the Government Leaders Program participants to interact and discuss important and even sensitive issues with Sir Mark Allen,"

said Adel Al Shared, Executive Director, MBRPLD.

Marwan Bin Bayyat, Director of Art and Culture, participant commented: "The session with Sir Mark Allen gave us an opportunity to examine our society in general from the point of view of a foreign expert. This remarkable experience was an opportunity for participants to visualise new point of views corresponding to the intricacies of the Arab World and Dubai specifically. The ideas that Sir Allen discussed left a positive impression on the participants regarding their ability to link different opinions and experiences. All this was made possible because of the extensive knowledge of Sir Allen with regards to Arab World intricacies and nuances.

Sir Mark Allen studied Arabic at Oxford and worked in the diplomatic service for over three decades, spending several years in the Middle East, including stints in the UAE, Egypt and Jordan among others.

Upon his retirement from public service, Sir Mark Allen joined BP as a Senior Special Advisor.

MBRPLD has been established 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 to ensure the country's global sustainability.