UAE Chapter of Young Arab Leaders announces the 2006 strategy

Saeed Al Muntafiq, CEO of Tatweer and Chairman of the UAE Chapter, attended the meeting along with members of the Executive Committee including Khaldoon K Al Mubarak, Chief Operating Officer, Mubadala; Shehab Gargash, Managing Director, Daman Securities; Khalid mohd S.Bakhit, Vice President, Mohammed Salem Bakhit Al Bakhit Group of Companies; Mohammed F.S.Al Qassimi, Chairman, MANAFA L.L.C; Mohammed Nasser Khammas, Managing Director, Al Ahli Group; and Mohammed Al Hammadi, Writer & Journalist, Al Itihad.

Speaking at the meeting Saeed Al Muntafiq said,

"There no doubt that our past successes are a matter of pride for everyone involved. We have learned from our wise leadership that there is no limit for success, and what we have accomplished is only a small portion of what we aim to achieve. Therefore I am inviting all of you to continue what we had started, and work on strengthening Young Arab Leader's strategies to create a new generation of young leadership which is able to effectively contribute to the regional development and move it towards a higher level of growth and prosperity."

Al Muntafiq defined the Chapter's overall strategy for 2006, which will concentrate on social activities and events through supporting the youth, and strengthening and developing the leadership values. The YAL UAE chapter will focus 80% on social contribution through youth and leadership development and 20% on the member leaders' development.

Al Muntafiq spoke about the accomplishments of the UAE Chapter over the past year and said, "Last year witnessed the UAE Chapter's official launch, and since then we have started a series of projects and initiatives, which form a solid base to launch more pioneering initiatives. The regional venture capital initiative, Alf Yad was launched and consists of 10 private equity funds that will be launched over 10 years. Alf Yad will raise and deploy AED 1 billion in private equity investments throughout the region. In addition, an agreement has been signed with INJAZ programme to strengthen communication network among young leaders, besides providing scholarships at Wharton University and the American University in Dubai, besides training opportunities in the Jumeirah hospitality group".

Al Muntafiq spoke about the Chapter's success in expanding its membership base, which now includes more than 50 members who are leaders from all the major sectors in THE UAE such as manufacturing, real-estate, consultancy, financial, government, art, media and many more.

Al Muntafiq addressing the UAE Chapter members said, "Today we are at the start of a new phase of growth and prosperity, and there is no doubt that you are all responsible to support it, since you are the role models for the young leaders, who in turn bear the responsibility of continuing the growth and development process".

The meeting discussed various programs focused on developing the youth including education, scholarships, and training programs, selecting the best and offering the required educational atmosphere, and concentrating on physical training.

The participants spoke about supporting the youth and private sector. Members stressed on the importance of working on developing the initiatives and achieving its goals, besides aiming to aid project owners in overcoming growth obstacles.

Al Muntafiq stressed on the importance of expanding the communication network amongst the members at the regional and international level through organizing conferences and forums which look at different aspects of creating able leaderships which can take on the responsibility of strengthening development, especially in context of the great success of the Young Arab Leaders forum held in Dubai last December. He also stressed the importance of encouraging the members to participate in the regional and international events, and strengthen their participation in forums and workshops which support and discuss new trends of knowledge.