World Summit on Innovation & Entrepreneurship to be held in Muscat from April 1-3, 2006

The 2006 World Summit on Innovation & Entrepreneurship will unite 800 of the world's leading innovators and entrepreneurs who will come together to improve the state of the global economy. WSIE has so far confirmed more than 85 renowned business, political and social leaders as speakers from across the globe, organizers announced at a press conference held in Dubai yesterday.

Speaking at the conference, Sam Hamdan, Chairman of the Global Leadership Team (GLT), the strategic development and execution leader of the event, stated:

"We are honoured to be bringing such an array of political and business figures together for this Summit. WSIE will create a network community for innovators and entrepreneurs who share the focus on emerging nations. Top representatives from the regional and international business community will communicate how emerging nations can best prepare themselves for global competition."

He highlighted the significance of holding the summit in the Middle East, "a region that is witnessing phenomenal growth in non traditional industries. This growth will need to be sustained beyond the initial boom and therein lies the challenge."

He concluded by saying: "We are of the opinion that the new generation of Arab Leaders and young businessmen of the region will ensure the region continues to grow beyond just the boom."

The event is being sponsored by a number of key regional and international organizations that include The Kanoo Group, PepsiCo, Cisco Systems, and HP.

Commenting on the WSIE at the conference, Mr. Mishal Hamed Kanoo, Deputy Chairman of The Kanoo Group one of conference's sponsors, said: "The Kanoo Group has always been admired for its global vision and has remained committed to the progress and development of the entire region.

'The private sector in the region has a pivotal role in creating opportunities for future generations. Keeping this in perspective, the Group was of the view that the World Summit of Innovation & Entrepreneurship is the perfect platform to communicate these messages as it will be the largest gathering of its kind to be held."

Also in attendance was Samer Alkharrat, General Manager - Gulf Region and Pakistan, Cisco Systems, who said; "We at Cisco are proud to support the 'World Summit of Innovation and Entrepreneurship' which is aimed at enabling the Arab World achieve global competitiveness. Entrepreneurship and innovation is synonymous with Cisco's corporate personality and is strongly reflected in providing support to our customers.

'Since the company's inception by a small group of computer scientists from Stanford-University in the early 80s, the company has pioneered the successful development of Internet Protocol (IP) based networking technologies, changing the way we work, live, play and learn."

Finally, Mr. Richard D. Evans Commercial Vice President for PepsiCo International's [PI's] Middle East & Africa Region stated: "The World Summit of Innovation and Entrepreneurship is an ideal opportunity for the private sector in the MENA region to meet innovators and entrepreneurs from all over the globe. The interest of PepsiCo is in line with the efforts of the WSIE in finding solutions to develop the region and this is what we can hope to achieve from the forum and dialogue that the WSIE will provide."

The three-day conference will present a knowledge-sharing platform for the economic growth of emerging nations. Having confirmed a strong line up of leading international figures such as Dr. Deepak Chopra, Mr. Michael D. White, Chairman & CEO of PepsiCo International Businesses, Dr. Johnathan Lord, Chief Innovation Officer, Humana, Dr. David Polinchock, Founder & Chairman, Brand Experience Lab.

A number of leading regional experts will also be speaking at the conference, including, Mrs. Haifa F. Al Kaylani Founder & Chairman Arab International Women's Forum , and Dr. Thuraya Al Arrayed Senior Executive Saudi Aramco. All speakers are regional leaders in their fields coming from diverse backgrounds and covering different expertise.

The WSIE aims to provide a knowledge sharing platform which will focus on six key initiatives: improving infrastructure, empowering human development, enabling sustainable development, making innovations foster better governance and legal reforms, sharing reports from leaders on stimulating growth ventures and ultimately exploring the impact of innovation trends on our future lives.

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The organization has a documented track record delivering powerful solutions for a cross section of prestigious clients ranging from leadership capacity building to alliance management for global live events and productions, for a cross section of prestigious clients.