Class Visit 23.10.2011

Sunday 23rd October, Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi

The elite class, CE1, and I visited the GCC Economic & Financial Integration Forum (Opportunities & Challenges) on the morning of Sunday 23rd October. We registered and listened to the opening and welcoming speeches.

The first session, from 9.30 to 11.00 a.m. concerned economic and financial integration and international experiences, chaired by Dr Jassim Al Mannai, Director General of the Arab Monetary Fund.

The first speaker was Dr Abdul Aziz Aluwaisheg, Director General International Economic Relations GCC Secretariat. He spoke in English, perhaps surprisingly, and he talked mainly about the historical developments and agreements made in recent years by GCC countries in their pursuit of freeing up trade and reducing tariffs in the GCC zone.

The second speaker was Lukas Stemitsiotis, Head of Unit in the European Commission, EU, and he addressed the problems and challenges facing the Eurozone. These problems at the moment, centring on Greece and the possibility of a Greek default on its debt, are particularly acute and the Eurozone countries are still struggling to find a solution.

The third speaker was Dr Aladdin Rillo, Director and Chief Economist ASEAN Integration Monitoring Office. He spoke of the experiences of the Association of South East Asian Nations. He mentioned ASEAN’s Mutual Recognition Arrangements, already implemented for engineers and architects. He pointed out that ASEAN was different to the EU and the GCC in that 50% of ASEAN GDP is provided by the service sector. He said that the goal in his region was integration of capital markets, rather than a single currency. He pointed out that it was difficult for developed countries like Brunei and Singapore to share a currency with undeveloped countries like Laos and Cambodia. Perhaps this remark applies equally to the Eurozone. He said that in ASEAN the emphasis is on a single market and integration with the global economy. He stressed the importance of connectivity and equable economic development. He suggested that ASEAN was concentrating on integration of trade, while the GCC was leaning towards integration of finances. He was the briefest of the speakers and perhaps the one who dealt most with practicality rather than ideas and ideals.

The session closed with a general discussion which proved to be more of a number of isolated statements rather than a genuine debate.

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