THE MIDDLE EAST SUMMIT

On October 26, the Swedish Trade Council’s flagship event, the Middle East Summit 2011, concluded after two eventful days in Doha, Qatar. The program focused on country-specific business opportunities, with world-class speakers and workshops centering on high-growth industry segments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. 

One of the main objectives of the Middle East Summit is to create a platform for Swedish companies to facilitate their sustainable business expansion to new markets in the MENA region. One of the speakers, the Swedish Minister for Trade, Dr. Ewa Björling, highlighted that the region is not necessarily centered to the oil-rich Arab states, but that there are considerable opportunities in the wider MENA markets. 

Other sessions examined the macro-economic climate in the region and, among others, Mr. Oliver Cornock from Oxford Business Group, presented a positive outlook on the financial developments and especially highlighted Saudi Arabia as a market of strong future growth. Looking at the region from a political angle, we listened to Ms. Judith Barnett, whose past positions include a specialist advisory role at the Clinton Administration. Ms. Barnett’s expertise in the political situation of the Middle East provided a strong foundation for her speech regarding the recent regional turmoil. 

To conclude, the Middle East Summit 2011 had a good mix of different companies and industries, creating a good platform for business interaction and synergy creation among the participating companies. The informational workshops that point to concrete business opportunities reinforces this notion.