Muntafiq heads strong YAL UAE representation at Jordan World Summit

DUBAI, 21 May 2005: Saeed Al Muntafiq, Chairman of the Young Arab Leaders (YAL) UAE Chapter Taskforce, today led a strong contingent of top officials from the organization to this weekend's World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Jordan.

The YAL, which emerged from a WEF meeting in Davos a year and a half ago, is expected to use the Jordan meeting as a springboard to launch a spate of new initiatives which will consolidate its influence and spark the rollout of its strategy to influence the future shape of the region.

The UAE Chapter, which has been one of the strongest supporters of the YAL initiative, is attending the Jordan meeting in force. There is full representation from the country's investment sector which is experiencing boom conditions with sizeable global and regional investments being made from both Abu Dhabi and Dubai, in particular.

The UAE, a committed backer of international trade and finance, is one of the strongest supporters of WEF's global economic goals. YAL, which represents the future Arab leadership of the region, shares the country's commitment and is being positioned to lead the process of reform and development for the Middle East.

Mr. Muntafiq said: "It is important that YAL, and the UAE Chapter, shows its commitment to what we are trying to achieve through WEF because the future well-being of the region is involved.

"We expect this meeting in Jordan to play a pivotal role in determining the future of YAL. Our top officials will be in Jordan and we will have the opportunity to take the important decisions.

"We can listen and learn about what is being said and thought by the people who are able to wield influence in the world. We can also begin to move forward by deciding our own agenda and strategies.

Senior officials representing the UAE Chapter who are due to attend the Forum include Khaldoon Al Mubarak Chief Executive Officer of Mubadala, Abu Dhabi and Vice-Chairman of the Taskforce, and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Faisal Al Qassimi Chairman of Manafa LLC. The UAE Chapter representation also included Habib Al Mulla, Chairman of Dubai Financial Services Authority, Majid Saif Al Ghurair, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghurair Group of Companies and Sameer Al Ansari, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai International Capital.