Financial and Government Technology Summits to discuss IT role to navigate international financial crisis

The FT Summit will be held under the Patronage of HE Obeid Homeid Al Tayer the UAE Minister of State for Financial Affairs.

This is the first time that the two summits are to be held simultaneously aiming to address the role of technology for banks and governments in resolving and overcoming the negative impacts imposed by the international financial crisis.

"It is imperative to seek the maximum benefit from modern technology solutions to support the achievements and successes of the banking sector in the region which capitalized on the robust economic and social growth, to avoid the repercussions resulting from the current financial turmoil that is sweeping across all the sectors of the global economy," commented Khaled Al Bustani, the Executive Director for Budget Affairs and International Relations at the Ministry of Finance.

"Defining the role of technology in curbing the effects of this crisis must be carried out at the official leadership and corporate decision maker levels in addition to the technical expertise for the purpose of establishing a common understanding among all parties and the exchange of experiences for the sake of providing a sound scientific effort that supports these objectives," he added.

At present, there seems to be a consensus among all concerned parties that technology can play a vital role in the efforts seeking to combat the negative effects of the international financial crisis according to the World Development Forum, FT & GT Summit organizer.

Khaled Eid, World Development Forum's chief executive officer, explained:

"As many companies retrench in the face of an uncertain economy, this is the time to innovate with IT projects that can transform the business and position the organization for future growth. "

"This crisis yielded Arab and international contention that investing in technology is no more a luxury, balancing between high cost - high risk and increasing business demand is the puzzle that every organization face at this moment, Technology can offer key contribution to help decision makers take an informed decision, reduce cost, manage resources more effectively and most importantly measure the results," he added.

According to a recent paper by the US-based Forester Research, the rate of corporate spending on information technology is expected to increase by 9% next year, despite a small setback of 1.6% recorded this year compared to the 4.1% recorded last year.

"These results are evidence for the value of the information technology, and accordingly many governments, including the US and Japan, have decided on increasing their investments in technology as counter measure against the consequences of the World's financial crisis," Eid explained.

"That is why we have decided to co-locate the two summits this year, to allow for direct interaction between information technology vendors and providers, leaderships of the banking sector, and the decision makers from Arab governments," he said.

The annual summit is dedicated to address the issues that influence the economic development drive in the Arab World, focusing on the opportunities for establishing partnerships between the financial and governmental sectors on the one hand and the information technology sector on the other," Eid concluded

Experts agree that the international information technology companies will be fortifying their presence in the GCC, owing to the huge surpluses and investment facilities offered today.

"The governments' reliance on technology to establish a secure infrastructure provide for a better abilities in risk management, while the worries prevailing among decision makers from a total collapse of the international financial system can be addressed through a stronger financial system supported by a solid infrastructure based on advanced technological solutions," commented Dr. Fahd Al Howaimani, the advisor to the Saudi Minister of Telecommunications and Technology and one of Speaker Faculty.

Speakers at this year's event will address the most pressing concerns, the Summit will feature leading experts including the International speaker & author Ade McCormack Financial Times columnist, The league of Arab States will present a paper on transformation of Arab World towards the Knowledge Society, the Saudi Ministry of IT will present a case study on "Authentication Using Digital Certificates", in addition to papers & case studies will be presented by Dubai World, Riyad Bank, Forrester Research, Knowledge Economic City, Abu Dhabi Systems & Information Center (ADSIC), Dubai Municipality in addition to Oracle, Ramco systems and Accella amongst many others.