The Federation of Chambers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Islamic Center for Trade Development signed a memorandum of understanding to serve their mutual interests and promote integration between the economies of the GCC countries and those of the Islamic world, which will strengthen the GCC’s economic standing in the Islamic world.
According to the Bahrain News Agency, the memorandum was signed by Abdul Rahim Hassan Naqi, Secretary-General of the Federation of GCC Chambers, and Dr. Al-Hassan Ahzain, Director-General of the Islamic Center for Trade Development.
The signing of this MoU comes within the framework of strengthening existing cooperation between the two parties in areas of mutual interest and in a manner that serves their shared interests.
It was agreed to exchange annual work programs to identify areas for joint work and to coordinate related activities and events, particularly seminars, conferences, forums, and all research, studies, and publications; to provide technical and legal consultations according to each party’s area of expertise; and to offer opinions on draft agreements of mutual interest that serve both parties.
The agreement also included the exchange of information on investment opportunities that can be pursued through joint cooperation among business owners in GCC countries, publishing such information on the websites of the Center and the Federation, as well as through their publications, and striving to organize bilateral visits between business owners to achieve these objectives.
It was agreed to cooperate in organizing training courses, in accordance with programs to be coordinated, in a manner that serves the commercial, industrial, and service sectors in the GCC countries and the other member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
The memorandum also stipulates the organization of activities and events of mutual interest, as well as implementation procedures and consultations regarding activities that can be organized through mutual cooperation, and the exploration of the best ways to organize them.
Furthermore, an electronic link will be established between the Union’s General Secretariat and the Center, particularly regarding trade information and other information of mutual interest, and it was agreed to organize a joint event under the name of the Gulf-Africa Economic Forum in the Kingdom of Morocco, with a separate agreement to be established for this event.
As a first step in this joint effort, a training course will be organized in the Kingdom of Bahrain from September 1–3 (September) 2014 on export auditing and capacity building to enhance the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises.
