PricewaterhouseCoopers develops new regulatory requirements to organize the business sector in the region

Michael Stevenson, Senior Partner at the PricewaterhouseCoopers Middle East, said, "This development in regulation coincides with the new challenging era of development and growth that countries in the region are witnessing."

Commenting on the partnership of PricewaterhouseCoopers with the Arab Strategy Forum which is set to take place on December 13th /14th / 15th 2004 in Dubai, Stevenson said, "The Arab Strategy Forum offers an excellent opportunity for businesses to understand better the challenges they should address to take full advantage of the growth in the Middle East Region"

He added, "We are pleased to participate in this pre-eminent event which highlights issues of interest to the Region and look forward to continuing this collaboration in the future."

PricewaterhouseCoopers operations out of 23 offices in 13 countries across the Middle East Region.

He said, "Our partnership with the Arab Strategy Forum reflects our commitment to the region and support for its future."

The Arab Strategy Forum will be held under the overall theme of 'The Arab World in 2020'. The Forum will discuss and outline what are the key factors that influence the region's regimes and what are the trends in governance. It will also discuss political reform and the development and march towards genuine democracy, as well as the impact of new governance models that emphasize transparency and accountability.

One of the other subjects to be covered under the overall theme is the impact of internal developments in one country on their neighbours and the region.

The Arab Strategy Forum is divided into different sessions on the three days it will be held. The first day (13th December) will see discussions on 'Security in the Arab World in 2020' among other themes. Day Two (14th December) would focus on business and economy with speakers debating 'Globalization of Economies and Business in 2020 - The Future of Economic and Financial Reform in the Arab World. The final day (15th December) will discuss the Arab workforce in a session on 'Arab Labour Markets in 2020 - Population Growth and the War for Talent'.

Eight pre-eminent local and international organizations have come forward to offer their unstinted support for this year's Arab Strategy Forum. The premiere annual event has six Organizing Partners and two Media Partners. They are Emirates National Oil Company Ltd (ENOC), Abraaj Capital, PricewaterhouseCoopers, DaimlerChrysler, National Bank of Dubai and Gulf News, in addition to our Media Partners Al Sharq Al Awsat and CNN. The Arab Strategy Forum will provide valuable insights, which will help in improving the status of the Arab World.