Around 100 top executives from regional banks and other financial services’ firms, as well as senior representatives of global firms active in the Mena region, recently came together for the annual Mena bank CEO meeting in Doha.

The 16th such gathering was organised by the Institute of International Finance and hosted by the Qatar National Bank.

The two-day event was designed to facilitate networking and the exchange of views on the challenges facing financial institutions in the region, within the context of regional political turmoil and a sluggish global economy, a statement from IIF said.

Tim Adams, managing director of the IIF, said: “I am delighted to be here in Doha and to participate in this vital forum, which over the years has provided such an excellent venue for interaction between the Mena region’s financial leaders.”

“As the mature economies make their way to a full recovery, and as Europe builds a more stable monetary union, it is the emerging economies that will fuel global growth in the future. The oil exporting countries of this region will play a crucial role in this process.”

“We are proud of our longstanding and constructive relationship with the IIF as the premier global financial services organisation,” said Ali Shareef Al Emadi, CEO of QNB Group. “We look forward to our further future co-operation. It has been a pleasure to welcome my colleagues, the CEOs and senior officers from financial institutions across the Mena region. I trust that this meeting provided the opportunity for all of us to reflect on the challenges as well as opportunities facing our institutions.”  

At a formal dinner on the first evening of the conference, Ibrahim Dabdoub, group CEO of the National Bank of Kuwait and dean of the IIF Board of Directors, welcomed the participants and read the keynote speech due to have been delivered by Dr Josef Ackermann, chairman of the board of directors of Zurich Insurance Group and former chairman of the IIF board.

The dinner was attended by Yousef Kamal, Qatar’s Minister of Finance and Economy and Sheikh Abdulla Bin Saud Al-Thani, governor of Qatar Central Bank, among others, the statement said.

Paul Horsnell, managing director and head of commodities research with Barclays, delivered a keynote speech during lunch, analysing the prospects for the oil and energy markets in the context of an unsettled global environment.

“This was a highly productive exchange of views among the financial leaders of the Mena region,” George Abed, senior counselor and director for Africa and the Middle East at the IIF, said. “Taking note of the repercussions from the Arab Spring events, speakers commented on the growing divergence in the recent economic performance of countries in the region.”

“Those that are going through political change continue to struggle with depressed growth and widening fiscal and external deficits. Meanwhile, the oil-exporting countries have continued to grow at robust rates while accumulating financial surpluses. Qatar in particular continues to register remarkably high rates of growth, while pressing forward with the diversification of its economy and the strengthening of its external position,” he concluded. – TradeArabia News Service