World’s biggest health congress this month

The Middle East plays host to the world’s biggest multi-track healthcare congress this month. Arab Health, which takes place at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre from January 28-31, features the world’s most comprehensive conference programme under the banner of the Arab Health Congress.

The congress encompasses 18 internationally accredited conferences in specialised areas of medicine, surgery and healthcare management with over 400 eminent and internationally acclaimed speakers and more than 6,000 delegates, making it the world’s largest such event.

The conferences are accredited by the American Academy of Continuing Medical Education (AACME), recognised in over 96 countries.

The congress sponsor is UAE development company Emaar that has announced a healthcare group that plans to develop and manage over 100 hospitals, clinics and medical centres in the Middle East and North Africa, the Indian subcontinent and South East Asia in the next 10 years.

Dubai Healthcare City is the leading sponsor of the conferences that make up the Congress— including Leaders in Healthcare.

Supported by the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Health, the Health Authority Abu Dhabi and the Dubai Health Authority, the 2008 edition of Arab Health Exhibition will showcase products and services by more than 2500 exhibitors representing over 65 countries.

More than 50,000 healthcare professionals from all over the world are expected to attend.

Congress conferences include molecular imaging, musculoskeletal, laboratory management, surgery, vascular intervention and orthopedics.

“All Arab Health Congress conferences have AACME accredited hours, demonstrating the fact that Arab Health has met the rigorous standards for delivering quality continuing medical education,” said Simon Page, Group Director of Life Sciences at IIR Middle East, organisers of Arab Health. Source

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First islamic hospitality congress set for Dubai

The Islamic hospitality market is said to be currently growing at a fast pace in the Middle East as well as in many popular international destinations favoured by Middle Eastern travellers, such as the UK and Germany. Islamic travellers have specific travel requirements to which Islamic hotels respond.
This group of hotels comply with Shari’ah rules and focus on values such as family and health, innovative value-added services, and unique design elements derived form traditional Islamic architecture.
Thanks to those competencies, they have gained a significant competitive advantage in the hospitality market and have succeeded not only in attracting Islamic travellers but also international travellers who want to experience the true Islamic hospitality during their stay.
The Islamic hospitality industry has a potential of growth that financial institutions, always looking to offer new and innovative products by developing new vehicles for investment, have clearly understood. The Islamic real estate market being already well established, financiers are now looking into that industry, which appears to represent a very profitable investment.
The first Islamic Hotel Expansion Congress (3-4 December 2007 at the Hilton Jumeirah Hotel in Dubai) gives the opportunity to Islamic hotel operators, developers, banks, private equity firms, real estate firms, asset management companies, hospitality consulting companies and financiers to find strategic partners, to network, share knowledge and learn about strategies that could help them in their expansion and investment projects.
Participants will attend exclusive conference sessions led by professionals involved in Islamic Hotel expansion and experts from the hotel industry, namely: Naseem Javed, President, ABC Namebank International; Amgad Sobhy, Senior Vice President, Financial Control & Strategic Planning, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank; Aberahman Belgat, Managing Director, Saudi Arabia, Accor; Jalil Mekouar, Executive Vice President, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels; Mustafa Al Saleh, Vice Chairman, Managing Director and CEO, Adeem Investments; Armine Mourkazel, Managing Director, Golden Tulip Hotels; Binod Narasimhan, Chief Financial Officer, Istithmar; Hamza Farooqi, CEO, CII Holdings; Kamal Eldarrat, Chief Development Officer, ARADY; Shadi Sedhinejad, Senior Legal Consultant, Islamic Finance & Finance, DLA Piper.
The speakers will discuss the opportunities related to the globalisation of Shari’ah-compliant hospitality, the concept of global branding and positioning of Islamic hospitality, the four mega forces at play in GCC branding, what it takes to create Islamic hospitality icons as well as the Islamic real estate finance trends and strategies, the role of private equity in hospitality and the new Islamic investment concepts.
Judging from the range of views expressed recently at World Travel Market in London, and other industry occasions, on the potential and specific service elements of Islamic hospitality, the scene is set for an interesting discussion. Source

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Abu Dhabi to host International Islamic Finance Congress

International, regional and local financiers and bankers will gather in Abu Dhabi for the International Islamic Finance Congress to be held from November 19th to 22nd, 2007 at the Inter Continental Hotel.
This event will be the first of its kind in Abu Dhabi and is supported by the AbuDhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It will be of primary interest to CEO's, CFO's, COO's, Regulators, Retail Bankers, Fund/Asset Managers, Investment Bankers, Corporate Bankers, Analysts, Bond Managers, Lawyers, and Insurance Experts with interests in Islamic Finance.

This event comes at a time that the Islamic Banking industry is rapidly growing throughout the world, especially in the UAE which has an average annual growth rate of eighteen percent. However, one of the biggest obstacles to the growth of global Islamic finance is the lack of universal standardization and a feature of the Congress is the presentation from the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions on a new investigation on the entire process of new Islamic financial product development.
The event is also in a prime location with the capital of the UAE being named the richest city in the world and experiencing vast development in all aspects.
With such a swift growth rate, several difficulties concerning skills, standardization and costs of Islamic Finance need to be addressed for further development to occur.
This event will offer interested parties, particularly in Abu Dhabi, the opportunity to learn from experts addressing these critical issues. In particular, speakers will cover the latest developments in Shariah compliancy with regards to products and its influence on investment, the future growth of Islamic banking and how this will impact the requirements for diversifying economies.
The important factors and their complications in Islamic investment funds, Islamic project finance, Islamic retail banking, Sukuk and Takaful and progress towards uniformity in Islamic finance standards and how that will benefit international market growth.
Another urgent issue that needs to be addressed is the demand for training the next generation of Islamic finance managers. This International Islamic Finance Congress will also include two days of workshops on the 19th and the 22nd of November.
Provided by the Islamic Advisory Group, these highly practical workshops will focus on the Essentials of Islamic finance, Islamic finance risk management, Liquidity management and the Essentials of Sukuk.
The World Bank, the Dubai International Financial Center, the Kuwait Finance House, the Central Bank of Bahrain, Morgan Stanley, BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered Bank, and the Boston Consulting Group are just some of the leading International organizations that will be represented by respected experts at the finance gathering. Source

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Dubai to host 21st World Diabetes Congress

Dubai has successfully won the bid to host the 21st World Diabetes Congress organised by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) for 2011 following a competitive international process.
With over 12,000 delegates and 500 invited speakers set to participate, the congress will be one of the largest international congresses ever held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and will bring many of the world's leading experts on diabetes to the country. This is highly significant to a region that suffers the highest diabetes rates in the world.
The UAE is hit particularly hard by diabetes. At 19.5%, the country has diabetes prevalence rates that are second only to the Pacific Island of Nauru. The decision to hold the World Diabetes Congress in Dubai serves to increase awareness and promote national polices for the prevention, care and treatment of diabetes.
Dubai was selected to host the Congress following a competitive international process. The bid to host the congress was led by Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Department of Health and Medical Services (DoHMS), Dubai Convention Bureau, and Dubai Healthcare City, part of Tatweer.
'DWTC is proud to support Dubai in its efforts to bring together so many leading experts to discuss this critical challenge to global health. A congress of this magnitude provides an important opportunity for the exchange of knowledge among industry professionals, doctors, and scientists,' said Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director General, Dubai World Trade Centre.
Diabetes is a serious global health threat that is increasing at epidemic rates and affecting all countries. Today, more than 246 million people worldwide live with the disease. According to recent data from the International Diabetes Federation's Diabetes Atlas, 3rd edition, 19.5% of the UAE population suffers from diabetes, while Saudi Arabia (16.7%), Bahrain (15.2%), and Kuwait (14.4%) are also experiencing high rates.
Each year 7 million people develop diabetes. By 2025, it is expected that 380 million people will be living with the disease worldwide. Diabetes is deadly. It kills almost 4 million people each year - one person every 10 seconds.
'Tackling diabetes is a strategic priority for DoHMS and the presence of the World Diabetes Congress in Dubai will offer an essential opportunity to provide local medical practitioners with access to the latest thinking and research,' said Qadhi Saeed Al Murooshid, Director General of the Department of Health & Medical Services (DoHMS).
Experts agree that co-ordinated action between healthcare organisations is essential if we are to stem the rising tide of diabetes. The successful co-operation that has brought this Congress to Dubai is an excellent example of how, working together, we can achieve major results,' said Dr Muhadditha al Hashimi CEO of Dubai Healthcare City, a member of Tatweer.
The decision to bring the Congress to Dubai reflects the city's growing importance as a hub for medical meetings and conferences, with more global groups looking to host events in the Emirates because of its advanced infrastructure, world-class hotels, public safety record and wide range of attractions.
Earlier this year, DoHMS and DWTC signed an innovative Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) designed to help doctors attract medical conferences and congresses to Dubai. The agreement prioritises events that deal with healthcare issues that have a direct impact on the lives of people in the Middle East, such as diabetes. Source

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Global Water Management Congress kicks off in Dubai

Dr. Mohammed Saeed Al Kindi, Minister of Environment and Water, said today that the UAE environment and water resources have become under pressure because of the population increase resulting from the rapid changes and developments that the country experienced in the last years. Speaking at the Global Water Management Congress being held at Dubai Hayat Regency on 15th and 16th April, Al Kindi highlighted the problem of water scarcity in many countries of the world especially in the Gulf region. He stressed that the government of the UAE has put water issue as one of its top priorities."The government also made a lot of efforts in the conservation and finding of new resources of water. These efforts took many forms such as building dams to recharge aquifers, cloud seeding, using modern irrigation systems, issuing laws and regulations to control the use of and pumping of water and educate the people and launch an awareness campaign on the importance of water conservation." He said. Source WAM

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Retail congress on way

The phenomenal expansion of the Gulf retail industry will be a key topic for discussion when the world’s leading retailers meet at the World Retail Congress in Barcelona next month.
Some of the biggest names from the region’s will present and then discuss the vast opportunities for both international and domestic players, during a series of sessions devoted to this dynamic market, including Mohammed Alshaya, CEO, Alshaya Group; Tawhid Mohd Taher Abdullah, managing director, Damas; Patrick Chalhoub, managing director, Chalhoub Group; David Thurling, CEO, Istithmar Retail and Francois de Montaudouin, Group CEO, Majid Al Futtaim Investments.
As one of the main conference themes, the sessions are dedicated to how retailers can “get ahead of the game” in today’s emerging markets, and focus on how evolving economic, political and demographic trends will influence the future retail climate.
A wealth of international retailers who have entered the Middle East in recent years are also set to join the speaker line up, and are expected to advise on the challenges they have faced and the successes they have achieved, including Isak Halfon, executive vice- president international expansion, Mango; Norman Jaskolka, vice-president, Aldo Group International and Francis McAuley, international director, Debenhams.
In addition to an opening session, which will profile the regions retail outlook, other sessions devoted to the region include “Gaining a foothold in this dynamic market” and “The future landscape of the ever expanding shopping malls”.
These sessions will look at which brands and concepts work best in the region and discuss the properties of the mall of the future, helping delegates to choose the ‘correct’ location in today’s fast developing sector.
As the biggest Marks and Spencer outlet outside the UK opened last week at Festival City in Dubai, it is anticipated that the large Middle East delegation attending the Congress will also be particularly interested to hear Clem Constantine, Property Director for the iconic UK company, speak in a separate session on the impact of property decisions for retailers across the globe.
The World retail Congress is a unique event created in cooperation with the retail industry, which will bring together the world's leading retailers to address and debate the key issues.
With delegates drawn from 25 different countries around the globe, and a prestigious line up of almost 100 of the World’s retail leaders, it will provide the sector with a clear and coherent voice that will be heard by the key influencer groups such as politicians and policy makers.
Beyond the business streams and plenary sessions, the Congress will boast sector and country pavilions dedicated to business critical issues, and the launch of the World Retail Awards, the first ever global awards focused on retail excellence, which will take place during the Congress at a gala dinner.
The congress is organised by Emap Communications, with Visa confirmed as the Congress headline partner and KSA (Kurt Salmon Associates) as Awards headline partner. Co-sponsors include CBRE, Deloitte and Oracle.
Created in direct response to the demands of retailers in both developed and emerging markets, and supported by major international players including Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Carrefour, Ikea, AlShaya, AS Watson and Best Buy, the World Retail Congress will bring together the world’s retail leaders for high-level debate with international policy makers.
The aim is to drive growth in the global retail economy, promote the benefits of global retail excellence and gain sustainable, competitive edge in domestic and international markets.
With thousands of key retail professionals and politicians expected to attend, the focus will be on discussing and influencing the issues for change. Source

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