Delegates at international conference call for greater regional co-operation in the development of SMEs

The exhibition component of the event, which continued till February 2nd, 2005 at the J W Marriott Hotel, included more than 30 small businesses.

In his concluding remarks at the event, Mr. Khalid Al Kassim, Deputy Director General, Department of Economic Development (DED) called for a new paradigm of economic co-operation across the region. "Collaboration and partnership must become the keywords that govern our strategies for small businesses, thereby enabling the region to grow as a whole, complementing one another's strengths and weaknesses."

He also called upon governments and large private sector organisations to channelise a percentage of their annual budgets towards the streamlined growth of the SME segment in their countries, in order to ensure that the benefits of economic growth filters down to each individual citizen.

In her address earlier, H. H. Sheikha Hissah Saad Al Abdulla Al Salem Al Sabah President, Council of Arab Business Women called for greater networking opportunities for Arab Women entrepreneurs. She said: "There are several role models for Arab women today and the younger generation is keen to utilise their talents in setting up their own businesses, becoming financially independent and contributing to the development of society."

In addition to companies from the UAE, participants at the exhibition included several companies from Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, and India. About 15 participating companies are registered with Al Tomooh scheme of Emirates Bank.

Ms. Hessa Al Ossaily, Chief Executive Officer, Seagull Conferences and Exhibitions Organising the event organizer, summarized the conference deliberations in a statement. These included: Unifying local and regional efforts to provide technical and financial support and protection for SMEs through an authority; Inviting various private sector organizations and social institutions to participate in the support of SMEs; promoting specialized statistical studies to assist SMEs; Encouraging and growing a new generation of Arab entrepreneurs through inculcating the culture of entrepreneurship and maximizing the benefit from international and regional organizations by establishing a connection network between owners of international and Arab SMEs.