MANAMA, 10 May 2007 — Under the patronage of Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa, the 27th General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF) Conference is taking place in the Kingdom of Bahrain on Feb. 26-28, 2008. The theme of the Conference will be “Towards a more Integrated Arab Insurance Market.”
In a press conference held recently to announce the conference, Abdul Rahman Al-Baker, executive director, Financial Institutions Supervision at the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), said the 2008 biennial gathering of insurers throughout the Arab world comes at a particularly opportune time as the region’s insurance industry stands on the threshold of significant expansion.
“The challenge for Arab insurers is to harness this growth potential and transform it into real opportunities,” he said.
The event — which is held every two years — is expected to draw over 1,000 delegates across the Arab insurance industry, in addition to international insurance professionals.
A high-level steering committee comprising senior insurance executives from the local insurance market and the CBB has been formed to ensure the smooth organization and execution of the event.
He said the CBB is committed to supporting the growth and expansion of the insurance industry and maintaining Bahrain’s leadership status in the global insurance market.
Steering Committee Chairman Sameer Al-Wazzan, expressed Bahrain’s pleasure in hosting such an important conference, saying “we are honored that the GAIF has, for the second time since 1982, chosen Bahrain to host their upcoming conference.”
“This signifies their confidence in the Kingdom’s ability to organize and deliver prestigious events, which strongly reinforces Bahrain’s position as the leading insurance center in the region,” he pointed out.
Ashraf Bseisu, steering committee member, said “the success of this event largely depends on the collaborative effort of the insurance industry and of course the government’s support.
We are mobilizing all resources to ensure that this conference will be memorable and will truly reflect the image of Bahrain and its people.”
Steering committee member in charge of themes & topics Yassir Albaharna highlighted the desire to remold the event and set the tone for future GAIF conferences.
“We aim to deliver a creative and intellectually challenging content: past lectures have been replaced with stimulating debates, an essay competition has been introduced and interactive surveys will be conducted,” he said.