(MENAFN - Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) The Family Businesses Forum, hosted here, kicked off on Sunday with participation of 100 chairmen and owners of family businesses from Germany, Austria and Switzerland and 50 family businesses' leaders and owners in the Middle East.
Also involved in the event are 50 participants, including owners of businesses and chairmen of family businesses, from the UAE and GCC countries.
Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al-Nahyan, UAE Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research said, in the opening speech of the two-day forum, that most family businesses are thriving due to some family members' spirit to boost such enterprises.
Al-Nahyan added that the region has witnessed, since decades, family businesses providing economic opportunities and "taking the initiative, that is why this region has been known to be vital in terms of commerce in the whole Middle East, Asia, and Europe which all played an important part in terms of companies owned by families." The event is organized by the Owners Forum Company in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI) and is supported by the Abu Dhabi-based Department of Economic Development (DED), the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) and a number of family businesses in the UAE.
The forum is the most prominent event regarding the activities of family businesses in the region. It aims at highlighting opportunities existing in business projects in the UAE, Mid-Eastern countries, as well as in a number of EU countries, particularly the German-speaking ones.
The event is also intended to explore developing the role of family businesses in the economies of the region, difficulties being faced by such businesses and their contribution to bolstering the sustainable economic development process in those countries, in addition to exchanging the best practices and knowledge, not to mention exploring windows for joint business.
The Family Business Forum 2012 attracts a number to concerned senior officials, CEOs and leaders of family businesses, along with a number of investors and experts specialized in family businesses.
The event's discussions will cover very important topics regarding the future and the role of family-owned businesses in countries where they operate.
