Gulf youth conference launched in Doha

It focused on putting across the market trends and sustainable development in the region. The conference brought together AIESEC members from National offices in Qatar, UAE, Bahrain and Oman to set strategies, review regional initiatives, and undergo functional trainings and skill development as well.

The conference was under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim bin Faisal Al Thani, held at the Hotel Millennium and College of North Atlantic, Qatar. Discussions focused on the current trends in the Gulf region. Representatives from corporate, non-corporate, university and governmental entities conducted a panel discussion on market reality and the different perspectives on key regional trends.

Also present was BNP Paribas, who conducted a market trend workshop, on 'Project finance' and 'Current market conditions'. 70 members gained knowledge about project financing, how it works in the GCC region and the target sectors for project financing - through an interactive session conducted by Mr. Arnaud Bouchet, BNP's Regional Manager in Project financing. During the session on 'Current market conditions', Mr. Christopher Thomas, BNP's Regional Manager of Corporate Business Development, highlighted how the financial market affects us on a global, regional, local and individual scale. He also discussed the Middle East as a financial market, and the growth of the GCC market. Attendees also learned about the global financial crisis and its impact on the Middle East.

BNP Paribas' Regional Human Resources Director, Mr. Abdelhakim Doukkali said: "By participating in the 2nd AIESEC Gulf Conference, we realize the importance of such experiences at a young age and is proud to be able to play a role advocating the development of the region's youth into becoming the leaders of tomorrow. Both sessions held by BNP Paribas were aligned to the conference goal and the development of the members, aiding them to understand the trends and finance in the Gulf."