JEDDAH, 9 January — The Jeddah International Exhibitions Company is hosting a meeting of Arab exhibition and conference organizers in Makkah today to explore new strategies to reactivate the industry, which has been badly affected by the general economic slowdown in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
"The conference will discuss challenges faced by the Arab exhibitions industry, particularly in the light of a drop in activities following the terror attacks in the US," said Abdullah Mara ibn Mahfouz, member of the board of directors of the Arab Federation of Exhibitions and Conferences, and the head of the national committee for exhibitions in the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Commenting on the change of venue for the 28th conference of the federation and its accompanying expo on Oct. 17-19 from Cairo to Cologne, Germany, Ibn Mahfouz, who is also the president of the Jeddah International Exhibition Company, said the exhibitions in Arab countries cannot remain unaffected by international developments.
He said he believed that the current meeting will be decisive in determining the future of the federation as the economies of most Arab countries are passing through a period of recession.
The conference will evolve new policies to counter the current and future challenges by implementing the cooperation agreements between the federations in the Arab countries. It will also forge new strategies to restore the confidence of foreign companies in Arab markets, which offer a stable environment for investment.
Ibn Mahfouz stressed the strategic importance of Makkah, being the religious capital of the Muslim world, as a center for Islamic exhibitions. He noted that various government agencies have agreed to organize Islamic exhibitions in Makkah and Madinah with the participation of Muslim countries.
A number of work papers will be presented at the conference. A mechanism to integrate the activities of the 29 members from 16 Arab countries, including the Kingdom, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Iraq, will also be discussed, said Hisham Al-Haddad, secretary-general of the federation.
