API to hold conference on governance in GCC on Nov 3

‘Understanding of governance steadily growing in Gulf region’

KUWAIT, Oct 19, (KUNA): The Arab Planning Institute (API) has completed preparations for a conference on governance criteria and practices in the Gulf Cooperation Council member states, slated for Nov 3-5.

“Governance is one of the requirements for success of any economic reform program,” Head of the Organizing Committee Amani Bouresli told reporters Sunday at a press conference to unveil the preparations for the event.

“Understanding the importance of governance is steadily growing in the Arab and Gulf region,” she said.

Bouresli, former Kuwaiti minister of commerce and industry, stated that a growing number of Kuwaiti companies and institutions are adopting governance systems due to its impact in attracting investments and raising investors’ confidence in institutions.

For his part, API’s Director General Dr Bader Malallah said that conference will review and evaluate the effectiveness of the governance systems approved in the GCC in addressing the weakness of transparency and internal control systems as well as the lack of credible data for investors. It will discuss international success stories in this regard.

The conference agenda features the following key topics: importance of corporate governance application; the impact of the global financial crisis on control and legislation perspectives in the region; evaluation of international trade and proposed strategies for the application of corporate governance in the Gulf markets; private sector experience in adapting to the systems and structures of modern governance; and criteria of governance in private sector institutions, Malallah said.