Doha

Gulf countries should “plan well” for the post-oil era, said HE Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, chairman of the Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Foundation for Energy and Sustainable Development.

Al-Attiyah’s statement appeared in a special interview published in the 114th issue of the Industrial Co-operation in the Arabian Gulf Magazine published by the Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting (GOIC).

In the interview, al-Attiyah called on GCC governments to focus on technological industries and technical education in order to create technically-educated people capable of coping with the post-oil and gas era.

He noted that income source diversification is necessary, but GCC countries must adopt a clear and specific mechanism to achieve desired objectives. The former Minister of Energy also stressed on the importance of sovereign funds as means to reinvest money, and highlighted the necessity to focus on quality investments, guaranteed investments, and good return on investment, while avoiding non-secured investments.

Al-Attiyah elaborated on means to improve the Gulf investment ecosystem, overcome hurdles hampering foreign investments and channel foreign investments in accordance with GCC strategic plans to achieve development goals and maximise the benefit from these investments.

He also underlined the need to enact clear and transparent laws, in addition to tax policies guaranteeing returns.

GOIC secretary general Abdulaziz bin Hamad al-Ageel emphasised in the magazine the attempts to draw more foreign investments to the region.

He said the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) foreign direct investment attraction index revealed that the GCC region is receiving less investment than projected according to GCC countries’ ranks.

“Forecasts show an opportunity to achieve additional growth of FDIs should the global economy steer away from major tremors in the coming years. Thus, GOIC decided that the theme of the 15th Industrialists’ Conference would be Foreign Direct Investment in GCC and its impact on industry,” he said.

The conference will be hosted by the State of Kuwait at the Sheraton Hotel on November 25 and 26, al-Ageel said.

The magazine also features a comprehensive dossier on the First Gulf Metrology Forum organised by GOIC, in collaboration with Qatar’s Ministry of Environment, the GCC Standardisation Organisation (GSO), and GULFMET.

The event will take place at the Hilton Hotel in Doha December 14 and 15, he added.

Al-Ageel said studies estimate that the size of the global metrological services market valued at $824.6mn by 2020. GCC markets are ranked among emerging markets in the area of international metrological services paralleling the rapid growth of the technological challenges.

The magazine also includes a detailed report on the latest updates on the 15th Industrialists’ Conference in terms of sponsors and initial schedule.

The issue’s industrial report discusses the paints industry in the Gulf and highlights GOIC’s 2014 data revealing 217 factories with about $887mn worth of cumulated investments and employing more than 17,000 workers.

“GOIC has made available valuable industrial information that can be reached with the push of a button. It is another achievement for GOIC in line with its efforts to develop and expand its range of advisory and technical services,” said Abir Adel Jaber, the magazine’s editor-in-chief.
A full version of the magazine is available on www.goic.org.qa.