Under the patronage of His Highness The Prime Minister, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the 27th General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF) Conference is taking place in the Kingdom of Bahrain from 26th - 28th February 2008. The theme of the Conference will be “Towards a more Integrated Arab Insurance Market", as announced recently in a press conference.
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 Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), has been formed to ensure the smooth organization and execution of the event.
Mr. Abdul Rahman Al Baker, Executive Director, Financial Institutions Supervision, at the CBB, re-affirmed the CBB’s support for GAIF and welcomed the holding of such a premier event in Bahrain. The 2008 biennial gathering of insurers from 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,” said Mr. Al Baker.
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, he concluded.
Steering Committee Chairman, Mr. 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."
Adding to this statement, Mr. Ashraf Bseisu, Chairman of the BIA and Steering Committee member, emphasized that, "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”, Mr. Yassir Albaharna, highlighted the desire to re-mold the event and set the tone for future GAIF Conferences. He commented, “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”. Further details will be disclosed shortly through a dedicated website.
For further information on the Conference, or on how to become a sponsor, please contact the Conference Managers: T&M EVENTSCOM (T)+973 17-226775 (F)+973 17-226698 or by visiting the Forum website at www.gaif2008.com.
