05 February 2015
Sharjah - The Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq)is proud to announcethat a panel of leading business executives, moderated by Mr. David Hamod,the President and CEO of the National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce, will explore one of the key topics at the twelfth World Forum for Foreign Direct Investment: global infrastructure, with a particular focus on ports.

The session will be the second of five panels set to take place at the three-dayForum, held at midday on February 9th at the Jawaher Convention Centre. The members of the panel - titled 'Global Infrastructure: Enhancing FDI' - are Mr. Halil Kulluk, President & CEO of the Turkey-based Intekno Group of Companies, Mr. Frederick Ebers, Vice President and Regional Manager for Middle East & India in Maritime at DNV GL, Mr. Peter Ford, Chief Operating Officer of Sharjah-basedGulftainer,Mr. Ihab Ghattas, Assistant President of Middle East of Huawei Technologies, and Mr. Asif Shafi, Senior Vice Presidentand Business Development Director at AECOM.

The focus on infrastructure FDI is particularly apt because of the forum's theme this year: 'Where East Meets West'. The panel session will look at the continuing importance of airports and maritime ports in transporting passengers and freight around the world. It will ask some of the most pertinent questions facing the logistics industry today.

For example, should ports remain a sovereign possession of the country they find themselves in or should they be privatised? Can a foreign owner ever be as desirable as a national one? Which are the best ports in the world from a foreign investor's viewpoint? And what businesses are ideally suited to a dockside location? It will also examine how ports combine many of the factors that are key to site selection all over the globe, as transport hubs - some with preferential tax implications, others with none at all - offering direct access to markets.

HE Marwan bin Jassim Al Sarkal, CEO of Sharjah Investment and Development Authority "Shurooq" said:  "Though the evolution oftechnology continues apace, no advancement in paperless innovation can mitigate the need for goods, commodities and people to physically move from one place to another. Given that Sharjah is ideally located to offer logistics support to East-West traffic, as well as having vast deep water harbours within its borders, it is very fitting that the Emirate should host these essential discussions, led by a panel of eminent business leaders".

Sharjah's transport and logistics industry, consisting of marine freight and air freight, forms an important pillar of the Emirate's economy. Theindustry's market potential is set to grow dramatically over the coming years - forecast to more than double by the end of the decade, to almost AED 3.5 billion.

The World Forum for Foreign Direct Investment, which will be held in Sharjah this year from February 8th - 10th, is widely considered to be the world's premier FDI platform. International guest speakers at this year's event will include Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, and The Rt Hon. the Lord Mandelson, a former long-serving British cabinet member and European Commissioner for Trade. The forum will be attended by CEOs and senior executives from local and international organizations, investment promotion agencies, and economic development organizations.

The 2015 forum in Sharjah is the first year the event will be hosted in the GCC region. Previous host cities include many of the world's leading investment centres, such asAmsterdam, Brussels, London, Valencia, Bologna, Vilnius, Tallinn, Shanghai, and Philadelphia.

-Ends-

About Shurooq
Shurooq was established in 2009 with the aim of achieving social, cultural, environmental and economic development on the basis of Sharjah's distinct Arab and Islamic identity, and to encourage investment by adopting the best international standards in providing quality services that help attract investors from the region and the world.

Shurooq's key mission is to provide facilities and incentives to help overcome obstacles facing investment activities in the emirate, evaluate investment-related infrastructure projects, and lay down the necessary plans to complete such projects.

In recognition of its overall accomplishments, Shurooq was named The Banking Awards 2013 - and 2014 FDI Agency of the Year in the MENA region, in the European's Global Banking and Finance Awards.

Should you require further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Shurooq
Aya Mohamad Sarraj | Public Relations & Communication Executive
a.sarraj@shurooq.gov.ae

Mobile +971 50 628 6224

Or

Majdi Ashour
SAHARA Communications
Email: Majdi@saharagcc.com
0551014522

Or

Wafa Ahmad
SHARA Communications

Wafa@saharagcc.com
0569474164

© Press Release 2015