JEDDAH, 4 October 2005 — The 9th International Business Forum (IBF) ended at the Jeddah Hilton yesterday, with a catalog show and sectorial business matching sessions. More than 700 delegates attended the two-day event.
The event attracted top dignitaries and representatives from a host of countries including Lebanon, Algeria, Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan. The matching sessions were on construction, construction materials and furniture; food, beverages, packaging and packaging machinery; textile and tricot; automotive, spare parts and metallic industry; chemicals and petrochemicals; and transport and tourism services.
Participants urged Islamic countries to strengthen economic cooperation and expand trade exchange. They also called for removing all obstacles in the interest of intra-OIC trade, and revising investment policies of OIC countries in order to attract more foreign investment.
Some delegates registered themselves for a tour of the desalination plant and the Jeddah Industrial City.
The forum was termed as a global platform of international companies and Muslim businessmen. The organizers included the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), and the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry (JCCI), aside from the IBF.
The driving idea behind IBF9 was to create a “Global business network” that would help identify and address mutual trade and investment issues and recommend solutions to overcome obstacles for intra-OIC trade. “And the exercise was fruitful and the event a big success,” JCCI Chairman Dr. Ghassan A. Al-Sulaiman said yesterday.
The IBF provides information about business opportunities in the international marketplace. It is intended for companies wishing to export or expand into foreign markets as well as for those interested to acquire products and services from other countries. Al-Sulaiman, IBF International President Erol Yarar, and OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu were among those who addressed the session on Sunday.