By Mohammad Kamal
KUWAIT, Jan 5 (KUNA) -- Leading Kuwaiti businesspeople aspire to make the best of the coming Arab Economic, Social, and Development Summit, due here on January 19-20, and strike deals with their Arab counterparts on the sidelines of the high-profile event.
The summit provides ample opportunity for businesspeople to minimize the ramifications of the current global financial crisis and shore up their businesses, several businesspeople told KUNA Monday.
Some Arab countries have already started adopting new legislation to facilitate direct foreign investment and offer incentives for investors, Managing Director of Al-Homaizi Co. Ltd. Adel Al-Shemali said.
All economic sectors of Kuwait will reap fruit from the venue with the positive results of the summit being shown on the bilateral and multilateral activities, he predicted.
Although the summit will focus on economic development in the Arab world, it will lay the groundwork for legislation aiming to minimize the impact of the global financial crisis, he pointed out.
Al-Shemali voiced hope that the Kuwaiti investors would be able to seize the promising investment opportunities particularly in the domains of real property and major development projects such as the Silk City given the cash surplus they enjoy.
Meanwhile, Board Chairman of Aknan Global Development for Real Estate Company Hussein Al-Sayigh said Kuwait, through playing host to the historic event, will be able to rebuild confidence among the participants and regain the confidence of global investors in its economy.
The businesspeople have lost much of their confidence in the Arab economies due to the world financial turmoil in the past year, Al-Sayigh underscored.
The summit has to work out a clear-cut agenda for pan-Arab economic development giving advantage to the private sector and facilitating the initiation of major joint ventures, he suggested.
Arab joint investments have retreated dramatically in the last year due to the financial crisis which affected the plans of Kuwaiti firms for overseas expansion, Al-Sayigh added.
He recommended learning from the experience of foreign countries in encouraging businesspeople to venture into large-scale development projects in cooperation with their governments.
The Kuwaiti firms need to seize the chance of the summit to strike major deals with their Arab counterparts in order to overcome the current financial hardships, consultant of Al-Ahleia Switchgear Co. Abdul-Jalil Boland also said.
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