DIFC Conference explores new financial sector linkages between UK and the GCC region

Exploring the theme of 'GCC and the City of London: Partnerships and Priorities for a Post-Crisis World', the conference will bring together policy makers, business leaders and the banking and investment community in both the City of London and the UAE to debate the new partnerships and priorities emerging between the financial sectors of both regions.

A DIFC delegation led by HE Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman, Governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre and Vice Chairman of the UAE Central Bank, will travel to London to attend the day-long conference. Lord Davies of Abersoch, UK's Minister for Trade, Investment and Business will deliver the Keynote Address at the event, while HE Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman will deliver the Welcome Address. The Rt Hon. Lord Falconer of Thoroton QC will deliver the Lunch Key Note Address.

Abdulla Mohammed Al Awar, CEO of DIFC Authority, said:

"As the thriving economies of the GCC region start to play a more prominent role in the global economy and the world's financial geography starts shifting eastwards, there is an opportunity for the financial sectors in both the UK and the GCC to engage more productively with each other. The changing global financial landscape is creating new avenues for cooperation between the two regions and opening the door for partnerships that can help both economies perform to their full potential in the post-crisis economic environment and beyond."

In addition to HE Dr Omar Bin Sulaiman, the DIFC delegation to the UK will include Abdulla Mohammed Al Awar, CEO of the DIFC Authority; Dr Nasser Saidi, Chief Economist, DIFC Authority; Paul Koster, Chief Executive, Dubai Financial Services Authority; and Mark Beer, Registrar, DIFC Courts.

The conference will focus on mutual opportunities in sectors like funds and asset management; Islamic finance; banking and brokerage; and family offices. Key issues that will be discussed at the event include the post-crisis environment; legal; regulatory and supervisory reform and uncertainty; the increasing importance of emerging economies; the rise of the family office; the promise and mainstreaming of Islamic Finance; emerging opportunities in funds and asset management; the growth potential for banking and brokerage services in the region; taxation and location of financial activity; and the role of GCC capital markets and international financial intermediation.