By Saleh Fareed

JEDDAH — Bahrain will host the 18th Arab Businessmen and Investors Conference under the slogan "Investing in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Pioneering and Innovation in the Digital Economy" on November 11-13, 2019, its organizers said at a press conference in Jeddah.

Deputy Chairman of the Board Khalaf Hosan Al-Otaibi, Mohammed Abduljabbar Alkooheji, second vice chairman, Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Basem Mohammed Al Saei, executive bureau member of the chamber and other top executives from both chambers were present at the conference.

Al-Otiabi welcomed in his opening speech the Bahraini delegation and extended Jeddah Chamber’s full support and cooperation to make the 18th Arab Business and Investors Conference a success.

Alkooheji said “Bahrain is a leading example of a business-friendly nation with no free zone restrictions, 100% foreign ownership for a majority of activities and low operating costs. As the first GCC nation to move away from its dependence on oil, Bahrain is today the region’s most diversified and sustainable economy and leading financial hub.”

He added “the 4th Industrial Revolution has made paradigm changes in the way society and businesses have been functioning and is about more than just technology-driven incremental change. It is an opportunity to help varied stakeholders, including leaders, policy-makers and the general population from all income groups and nations, to harness converging technologies in order to create an inclusive, human-centered future. The real opportunity is to look beyond technology and find ways to enable the greatest number of people to positively impact their families, organizations and communities.”

He also said: “The focus of the 18th Arab Businessmen and Investors Conference is on the impact of the 4th Industrial Revolution on the Arab world and the BCCI is delighted to invite representatives from all over the region and the world to explore the possibilities, challenges and most efficient ways of adapting this revolution to obtain a dramatically improved future.”

The conference aims at achieving a number of objectives, the most important of which is to look at the investment opportunities in the sectors of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation, and to review a number of successful Arab experiences and to view the projects and investment opportunities available and the distinguished human resources and competencies in the Kingdom of Bahrain. In addition to introducing the Arab business community to the new investment environment associated with the digital revolution in the Arab countries, and to detect the problems facing Arab private investments and identify the ways to address them, and to recognize the investment opportunities available within the framework of the economic visions of the Arab countries, and highlighting the role of young people, women, the SME’s and emerging companies in the Arab world in leading the process of the digital economy transformation, in addition to honoring the winners of the Entrepreneurship Competition, and discuss opportunities and prospects for cooperation and the joint Arab action in the future economic sectors between the business owners and investors in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the business owners and investors in Arab countries.

The event, sponsored by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, is organized and supported by the Union of Arab Chambers and the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in cooperation with the Bahraini Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, the General Secretariat of the League of the Arab States, the Arab Investment & Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (Dhaman) & United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO-ITPO).

The conference set to attract 1500 participants from across the globe and a first of its kind forum in the region, representing a variety of expertise including key policy decision-makers, regulators, business investors, entrepreneurs, and global influencers.