Foreign Affairs LIVE: Gulf Economic Update
On October 5, 2016, Foreign Affairs hosted a half-day examination of the state of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the challenges facing its economies. More than one hundred investors, businessmen, and government officials were in attendance. For a full agenda, please see below.
8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. | Sponsored Breakfast: Investment Opportunities in Kuwait
Sponsored by Kuwait Projects Company (Holding)
Speaker:
H.E. Sheikh Dr. Meshaal Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Director General, Kuwait Development and Investment Promotion Authority
H.E. Abdullah Yaqoub Bishara, First Secretary General of the GCC & Chairman, North Africa Holding
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. | Foreign Affairs Briefing: The Gulf Cooperation Council
Speakers:
Fadel Al Baghli, Chairman, KGL Ports International
Pinak Maitra, Group Chief Financial Officer, KIPCO
Dr. Nadir Mohammed, Director for GCC Countries, Middle East and North Africa, World Bank
Kenneth Pollack, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
Moderator: Karen Young, PhD, Senior Resident Scholar, Arab Gulf States Institute
10:15 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. | The Impact of Oil Prices on Economic Growth and Development
Speakers:
Sara Akbar, Chief Executive Officer, Kuwait Energy
Sheikh Nawaf S. Al-Sabah, Chief Executive Officer, Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC)
Michael Cohen, Head of Energy Commodities Research, Barclay's
Marie Diron, Senior Vice President, Sovereign Rating Group, Moody's
Moderator: Varun Sivaram, Douglas Dillon Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | Simultaneous Breakout Sessions
Creating a High Growth, High Diversification Model for Kuwait
Featuring a conversation with Dr. Yousef H. Al-Ebraheem, Economic Advisor to Amiri Diwan
Speakers:
Dr. Bassam Alfeeli, Program Manager, Management Development Enterprises, Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences
Bader F. Al-Rezaihan, Chairman and Managing Director, Amwal
D. James Stamatis, Chief Executive Officer, Louis Berger
Moderator: Karen Young, PhD, Senior Resident Scholar, Arab Gulf States InstituteSilicon Desert: Can Innovation and Entrepreneurship Thrive in Kuwait?
Featuring a conversation with H.E. Sheikh Dr. Meshaal Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Director General, Kuwait Development and Investment Promotion Authority
Speakers:
H. E. Salim M. Al-Ozainah, Chairman and Chief Executice Officer, Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA)
Eng. Qusai Al-Shatti, Director-General, Central Agency for Information Technology
H.E. Dr. Mohammed Al-Zuhair, Executive Chairman, National Fund for Small and Medium Enterprise Development
Moderator: James P. Duffy IV, Partner, Baker & McKenzie LLP
12:30 - 1:30 p.m. | Networking Lunch
1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. | One-on-one meetings and investment roadshow
All photos credit: Don Pollard and Howard Jay Heyman