JEDDAH, 12 December 2004 — The World Gold Council (WGC) is launching its first “Gold Shopping Festival” in Kuwait today. “We’re organizing this after the success of all our projects and festivals in the Pan Arab countries,” Moaz Barakat, managing director of WGC for Middle East, Turkey and Pakistan said yesterday.
The festival is supported by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry and the Kuwait Association of Gold & Jewelry Traders and is a strategic marketing and promotional tool to enhance the gold industry in the Gulf in general and in Kuwait specifically. “The project will act as a tool to increase consumption of gold and gold jewelry in addition to increasing investment in gold,” he said, adding that the festival is also aimed to shed the light on the importance of gold, especially to the youth segment since they are the future buyers. “The WGC has chosen Kuwait to launch its first gold shopping festival, because it is considered one of the most important countries in the Gulf for the gold industry,” Barakat said. Previous gold festivals in different countries have proved that these activities can increase gold sales in that period to reach 30 percent and this is what the council is aiming for from this Kuwait festival, he added.