The secretary-General of the Union of Arab Chambers, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, stressed during his participation in a workshop entitled: “Russia-Bahrain: Cooperation for Progress and Prosperity”, which was held at the headquarters of the Investment and Technology Promotion Office of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Manama - Kingdom of Bahrain, in the presence of the Director of the UNIDO-Bahrain Office, Dr. Hashim Hussein, Chairperson of the Eurasian Women’s Forum Council Galina Karlova, Ekaterina Brizyeva, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Deputy Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Director-General of the Department of Global Partnerships and External Relations Fatou Haidara, Director General of the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development Hiba Ahmed, Chairperson of the Health and Wellness Committee and Board Member of the Bahrain Enterprise Foundation Lamia Mahmoud, in addition to personalities from Bahrain, Arab countries and the rest of the world, on the pioneering role of small and medium enterprises in creating job opportunities and supporting economic development, especially in developing economies. Pointing out that "small and medium enterprises contribute more than 45 percent of the gross domestic product of Arab countries, while the size of small and medium enterprises in the Arab world exceeds 75 percent of the total projects in the Arab world. These projects also contribute significantly to creating job opportunities and thus reducing the unemployment rate to very high levels."
The Secretary-General of the Union explained that "Arab countries have increased their interest in recent years in supporting small and medium enterprises, by facing the challenges of financing this sector, and developing programs and procedures in this regard."
He pointed out "There is a great need to review the institutional framework and governance of these programs and companies to ensure enhancing their capabilities to meet the increasing financing needs on the one hand, and their capabilities to manage risks on the other hand." He noted that "relying on government support and funding is not the way to continue," noting "the need to consider developing these programs and companies to become integrated financial institutions, in which new capital is injected from the public and private sectors, and which operate according to business models that ensure their growth and sustainability."
The Secretary-General of the Union noted that “in addition to the importance of small and medium enterprises, there is also the importance of leadership, entrepreneurs, and innovation, as in light of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the technological revolution, the keyword is entrepreneurship, especially in the Arab world, where more than 60 percent of the Arab world are young people, and therefore supporting entrepreneurship in the Arab world will contribute significantly to enhancing the growth rate of the gross domestic product, and thus addressing the unemployment crisis that represents a major burden on the countries of the Arab world.”
He pointed out that "the Union of Arab Chambers, which is considered the true representative of the Arab private sector, and includes 16 joint Arab and foreign chambers, is working diligently to support and enhance the reality of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs in the Arab world, as this sector is vital and important not only for Arab countries but for most countries of the world. In this regard, the Arab Republic of Egypt has paid great attention in recent years to entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship, which has been positively and noticeably reflected in the reality of the Egyptian economy."
He stressed that Russia is linked to the Arab world by strong ties of multi-faceted cooperation within the economic and social agenda. He explained that one of the important pillars for strengthening cooperation between Russia and the Arab world is to invest in the outstanding potential in promoting innovation, modernization, developing industry and technology, the financial sector, health care and medicine, and many other areas.
He believed that establishing fruitful international cooperation platforms and implementing measures to support women's creative initiatives aims to help promote women's proactive agenda and expand their capabilities in the field of scientific, technological and industrial progress, introduce innovative technologies, improve people's living standards and maintain a healthy and safe environment for current and future generations.
The Secretary-General of the Union participated in a working session entitled “The Role of Public-Private Partnerships in Empowering Economies,” as part of the activities of the Global Women’s Economic Forum and Expo, which is being held in the Kingdom of Bahrain from January 12 to 15, 2025, at the Four Seasons Hotel, Bahrain Bay. This session addressed the impact of public-private partnerships on economic growth, innovation and sustainable development at the regional and global levels.
The discussion explored how public-private partnerships can drive job creation, technological advancement, and global competitiveness, as by leveraging the strengths of both sectors, resilient, prosperous economies can be built that are equipped to meet future challenges.
The Secretary-General of the Union pointed out in his speech that “the Union of Arab Chambers is the true representative of the Arab private sector, which is considered a strong sector, as it contributes to employing more than 75 percent of the workforce in the Arab world. It also contributes more than 80 percent of the gross domestic product, but despite that, the huge projects that are implemented in the Arab world are often by the government sector, and for that reason the role of the state in this field must be to organize and sponsor the relationship between the public and private sectors. Since the organizer is the one who sets the rules of the game, and from this standpoint the state must inform all players in the private sector of the rules of the game with complete clarity and transparency, and in return there must be monitoring through the presence of a referee who monitors, holds accountable and punishes those who make mistakes. But in the end, the one who plays on the field is not the one who sets the rules, and hence the role of the private sector must not be merely an observer, but rather a prominent player, while the role of the state is the organizer, because the overlapping of roles will upset the balance of the game.”
Source (Union of Arab Chambers)
