Bahrain to host GCC-Africa Government and Business Leaders Meeting to bolster trade and investment

African and GCC Government Officials and Businesses will meet and network with the GCC region's key bankers and investors in Bahrain to discuss recent developments and business opportunities and to promote foreign direct investment and trade.

This high profile economic and investment forum is organised by Crans Montana Forum Middle East, in association with OPIC Fund for International Development OFID, and will be held during 1-3 December, 2008 at the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain Hotel and Spa in Manama, under the high patronage of H.H. Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of Kingdom of Bahrain.

It is the first event of its kind to connect the GCC with the African nations, representing a new era of South-South cooperation in today's rapidly globalizing world.

"Zain is sincerely committed to the future prosperity of Africa and to improving the economic and social well-being of its communities. Zain will continue to invest in this great continent and as Africa grows, Zain will grow. Furthermore, Africa is crucial to Zain in achieving our 2011 target of being a top-ten global mobile operator,"

commented Dr. Saad Al Barrak, CEO of Zain Group.

Operating in 22 countries in the Middle East and African continent, Zain acquired African mobile telecoms leader Celtel International B.V in May 2005 for $3.36bn, underscoring Zain's ambition to become a global telecommunications services provider. This was the largest corporate transaction of African assets by a Middle East company. Since, and inclusive of, this acquisition Zain has invested over $12bn in Africa.

"Zain's investment in Africa stretches beyond technology and out to the African community. Zain has launched a range of education-based initiatives across Africa in partnership with governments and communities to help them achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals. Zain has also donated millions of dollars worth of books and educational supplies to government-owned schools in Africa, and earlier this year, Zain sponsored the 2008 Nelson Mandela Concert in London," Dr. Barrak added.

Zain currently offers telecommunications services in Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The company is due to commence mobile operations in Ghana by the end of 2008.

The historic "Strengthening GCC-Africa Cooperation in the Gulf" Forum will provide a tangible platform for African and GCC Government Officials and Businesses providing a first-hand account of Africa's investment climate from a policy and regulatory environment perspective as well as enabling national, State, and Regional Governments, and the private sector, to showcase the clusters and projects that seek investments.

Confirmed attendees from the African continent include H.E. Maria da Luz Guebuza, the First Lady of the Republic of Mozambique, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Uganda, H.E. Mr. Eriya Kategaya, several African Ministers and Secretary Generals of regional African organisations, as well as many other high-profile governmental and corporate personalities.

A number of high-profile African delegations have confirmed their participation in this important Forum, in addition to several key business personalities from Bahrain's private sector and many senior-level governmental and corporate representatives from Saudi Arabia, and the GCC.

Her Highness Sheikha Hissah bint Saad Al Abdullah Al Sabah, Chairperson of the Arab Businesswomen's Council (ABC), recently confirmed her attendance as both a participant and speaker in the Forum; and Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Foreign Trade Minister, UAE, also recently confirmed her attendance.

The Forum is targeting: Policy makers and Officials from Governments and Para-governmental institutions, Parliaments, Chambers of Commerce, Businesses, Business associations, Foreign Chambers and Business Councils in the GCC Region and Africa, top executives from National Funds, Foreign Investment Funds, Investment and Financial Institutions, Banks including Islamic Banks, Institutional Investors, Corporate, traders, developers, and high net-worth individuals, Businesses targeted carefully according to the sectors of interest, International, Regional and Specialized Organizations, Chiefs of Missions and Diplomats.

The Forum's Programme headlines include: 'The Role of International Organisations: World Bank, IFC, International Monetary Fund, UNIDO, African Development Bank, Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, United Nations Environment Programme, UNECA, OFID', 'The role of the Sovereign Funds in the International Cooperation strategies', 'The new role of Islamic Banking', 'Assisting African countries to develop market-oriented trade networks', 'Developing Technology transfers and Business knowledge', 'Implementing Trade agreements between GCC States and African Countries', and 'Arab Foreign Direct Investment to Africa'.

Concrete African investment opportunities (by sector and Country) will also be presented at the Forum, including: Natural Resources, Mining, Oil and Gas, Energy, Renewable Energy, Transport, Industrial and Economic Infrastructure, Financial Services, Banking, Trade, Housing, Telecommunication, IT, Tourism, Manufacturing Industry, Privatization, Public Health and related activities.

The Forum will also include a special one-day session entitled 'The role of Sovereign Funds in Foreign Investment and Economic Development in Africa'. This smaller 'Forum within the Forum' will allow major International Organizations, Multilateral Institutions, Funds, Multinational Corporations, Government bodies and experts to offer new insights into the evolving responses to the rise of Sovereign Funds.

This will include their strategies, their significant impact on development in Africa—particularly their contribution to infrastructure development in Africa and their potential contribution to funding R&D in key high-technology sectors of the 21st Century—and ultimately, how they will help shape a multi-polar world.

Since 1989, the Crans Montana Forum has been devoted to the Economic development and the World Integration of Africa through Economic Growth, Trade Capacity Building, Natural Resources management and Infrastructure Development.