Announcing the launch of the DIFC Forum, Dr. Nasser Al Saidi, Chief Economist of the DIFC, said:
“There is a crucial need for exchange and analysis of economic and financial information in the MENA region, as this will lead to increased public awareness of the issues, opportunities and challenges faced by the region’s economies and capital markets. This initiative is in line with the DIFC’s strategic objective to foster the development of financial and banking markets, products and services in these countries. Promoting the exchange and analysis of financial information will also address the knowledge gap that exists in the region and enable better integration with the global economy.”
The DIFC Forum will bring together leading professionals from around the region, including chief and senior economists, financial analysts, representatives from regional and international financial institutions and think tanks, economic heads of the region’s central banks, capital market authorities and Ministries of Finance and Economy.
Each workshop will present economic and financial data from forecasts supplied by participants and will discuss economic and financial market developments as well as the effects of economic, monetary, regulatory and financial policies on markets and economies of the region.
At the first forum, Dr. Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, Economic Advisor, MasterCard International, will speak on: “The Effect of the Asia’s growth on the global economy and the MENA region.” Dr. Christian Kruse, Project Manager Swiss Financial Center Watch, Swiss Banking Institute, and Mr. Leo Keller, CEO of Netbreeze, will present a joint workshop on: “International Financial Centre Reputation Monitoring: Turning complex world wide information into knowledge for applicable business processes, with an application to DIFC.”
