IBBC is delighted to announce that H.E. Mr Abdullah Ahmed Al Saleh, UAE Under Secretary for Foreign Trade & Industry at the UAE Ministry of Economy will give an opening address at the IBBC Autumn Conference in Dubai, 25 November.

H.E. Abdullah, who previously spoke at the 2017 IBBC Autumn Conference in Dubai, has a firm belief in the UAE’s commitment to help Iraq rebuild its economy and infrastructure through growing the private sector, encouraging investment and increasing economic cooperation between the two countries. As most international companies working in Iraq have their regional HQ’s in the UAE, Dubai is a hub for trade and investment into the country and the IBBC are delighted that His Excellency will once again lend his considerable support to IBBC and its member’s efforts to rebuild Iraq.

H.E. Abdulla has been the Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Economy for Foreign Trade & Industry since March 2013. H.E. Abdulla holds numerous high-profile roles in the foreign trade & industry sector, including being the Head of the UAE negotiating team in GCC and regional free trade negotiations (2006 till date), He now leads the UAE team in the Negotiation of GCC-China Free Trade Agreement. He is a Board Member of the UAE International Investors Council and the Vice-Chairman of the National Committee of the World Trade Organization, he is also the Chairman of the Supervisory Committee on national initiatives for multiplying exports. He has led regional and global promotional teams carrying out 140 events in the past 3 years.

H.E. Abdullah was previously the Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade (May 2008-March 2013), Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Economy (2006-2008), Assistant Undersecretary for Economic Affairs and International Cooperation at the Ministry of Economy (2004-March 2006), a diplomat in UAE Embassy in Paris (2001-2004), and a diplomat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UAE Embassy in Washington DC (1993-1998).

Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, The Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Iraq will be opening the conference alongside H.E. Abdullah, Ambassador Jon Wilks and Michael Townshend the President of BP Middle East. Additional speakers include Simon Penney, Her Majesty’s newly appointed Trade Commissioner for the Middle East, Beverley Simpson the Director for Iraq within the Department for International Trade and representatives of the International Monetary Fund and the International Finance Corporation. Additional expert speakers are drawn from Rolls-Royce, SKA, G4S, National Bank of Iraq, Management Partners, Chevron and Wood, who are confirmed among others.

Conference sessions will focus on:

• Infrastructure – Rebuilding & Utilities Supply
• Oil & Gas – Increasing Production
• Regulatory & Financial Framework – Encouraging International Investment
• Logistics – Imports/Exports, People & Goods

For more information and to register for the upcoming IBBC conference, visit: https://iraqbritainbusiness.org/event/autumn-conference-dubai-uae