DUBAI, 24 September 2003 — Dubai Development and Investment Authority (DDIA) will host the regional workshop of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) being organized in partnership with IBM - Plant Location International (IBM-PLI) on “Strategic Marketing” from Oct. 8-9 in Dubai, UAE.
Saeed Al-Muntafiq, deputy director general, DDIA said, “The WAIPA regional workshop is being hosted with a view toward building the right grounds for investment attraction into the region and establishing linkages regionally and globally with other economic blocks and international institutions.” “The workshop aims to help investment promotion practitioners to understand foreign investors needs and on that basis design a marketing strategy. Workshop participants will be introduced to analytical tools for Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) to segment sector and country targets and market their country and the IPA services in the most cost-effective way.”
“The workshop will create awareness of the different marketing tools available and their performance ratios. The curriculum will include best practices by IPAs in the region.” Al-Muntafiq added.
Ms. Patricia Francis, WAIPA president said, “This is the first of a new series of workshops in the WAIPA activity program to be undertaken in cooperation with IBM -PLI. The workshop curriculum, which addresses mainly IPA professionals from the marketing, sales and strategy departments, has been designed to allow participants to work on a marketing strategy for their own IPA during the course.