The economic landscape of the Middle East in the era of cheap oil remains rich in opportunities for Scottish companies, a business audience will be told at an event in Glasgow next week.
The Middle East Masterclass, presented by Scottish Enterprise's High Growth Markets unit in Glasgow on April 22, will feature presentations by leading experts on the region, discussing how the region's longer term growth, especially strong in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, offers diverse opportunities to Scotland's business base.
The current low oil price of $63 a barrel, which most analysts believe to have originated in a Saudi and OPEC-led campaign to maintain market share in the face of increased competition from US shale gas, has hit GDP across the region - which is estimated to fall by 13 per cent across the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries this year. Nevertheless, advocates for the region, which has an expanding youthful population, stress its longer-term prospects and opportunities, sometimes overshadowed by a focus on China, India, and other so-called "BRIC" and "MINT" economies.
SDI's high growth markets team, led by former Gulf-based businessman Colin Crabbe, has campaigned for more Scottish companies to use their specialised expertise to pursue opportunities in sectors including energy, food & drink, technology, smart cities, e-government and supply chain.
Speakers at next week's morning event, to be held at 200 St Vincent Street, include Richard Thompson, editor of the region's leading economic journal MEED, prominent Dubai-based Globalscot Alex Watson of Davidson and Co. Legal Consultants, and Sharif Moussa, SDI's manager in Saudi Arabia, who will talk on infrastructure opportunities in Saudi Arabia.
The free event is described by Scottish Enterprise as "a must for any company who has some experience of international trade and is now looking to grow this in new market, companies considering expansion in the Middle East market, and companies thinking of, or attending, any of the proposed Middle East missions or exhibitions planned for 2015 and 2016, such as GITEX, ADIPEC, Arab Health and Gulfood."
For further information, and to register, see www.scottish-enterprise.com/events.
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