JEDDAH: Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal will inaugurate the First Arab Consumer and Brand Protection Forum, arabworldprotect.com here today.
Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, Finance Minister Dr. Ibrahim Al-Asaaf, Commerce Minister Abdullah Zainal, Minister of Culture and Information Iyad Madani, General Manager of the Saudi Customs Saleh Al-Khilawi and Ahmed Al-Hamdan, chairman of Hemaya Universal, will attend the inauguration of the three-day event at the Hilton Hotel.
The forum, the first of its kind in the Arab region, is being organized by Saudi Customs and Hemaya Universal in cooperation with both the Arab League and the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Prince Khaled is the patron of the forum.
“The forum is an extension of the Saudi government’s efforts to protect consumers by combating commercial fraud and counterfeiting through legislation and regulations that help minimize the spread of fake and adulterated products,” Al-Khilawi said at a press conference yesterday. A total of 12 workshop sessions will be held during the forum, starting Oct. 19, he said.
Offering a platform for the public and private sectors to exchange experiences and information, the forum broadly aims to raise consumer awareness and unite efforts against the scourge of commercial fraud. “Through the participation of public competent bodies, the forum seeks to develop and activate regulations and laws to protect intellectual property rights and effectively combat fraudulent trade practices and counterfeiting,” Al-Khilawi said.
“The emphasis will be on reviewing and updating the relevant regulations and laws for their effective application,” he added. The forum’s effort will extend to creating channels of communication with government agencies so as to streamline the flow of accurate information about dealers of counterfeit and fake products.
The objectives also include activating the activities of consumer protection groups, drawing up appropriate mechanisms to reduce the spread of counterfeiting and piracy, and benefiting from the experiences of developed countries in this regard.
More than 40 speakers and 400 experts in the global fight against commercial fraud will participate in the forum, said Ahmed Al-Hamdan, chairman of Hemaya Universal, during the press conference.
“The regional and international bodies participating in the forum include World Customs Organization, Intellectual Property Protection Unit at the European Union, the US Office for the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights and Patent, Gulf Standardization Organization, Saudi Specifications and Standards Organization, Saudi Consumer’s Protection Society and Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Jeddah and Riyadh,” said Al-Hamdan.
Scheduled on the first day is the main workshop themed “Capacity Building” that includes four sub-workshops.
