The Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC) has released issue number 110 of “The Industrial Cooperation in the Arabian Gulf” Magazine featuring a memo from GOIC Secretary General Mr. Abdulaziz Bin Hamad Al-Ageel entitled “GOIC suggests investment opportunities to achieve Gulf industrial development”. In his communication, the Secretary General highlights GOIC’s continuous efforts to suggest several industrial investment opportunities and promote them throughout GCC countries in coordination with chambers of industry and commerce and ministries of industry and trade. In fact, these opportunities were presented during several investment conferences and forums, particularly “Invest in Bahrain” forum, “Made in Qatar” exhibition, the third industrial investment opportunities forum in Jeddah organized by the Saudi Industrial Property Authority (MODON), the Building Materials Manufacturers Forum organised by GOIC in Doha last April and the industrial investment forum in Al-Qassim. Mr. Al-Ageel says that GOIC is carrying out studies to identify viable investment opportunities in GCC countries and Yemen based on a supply/demand analysis, examining the latest technologies related to clean industrial practices and offering value-added products through the use of available resources in GCC countries.

Al-Ageel stresses that the Organization is keen to keep on offering new investment opportunities in order to boost investments in the region for the best of the Gulf economy.

The 110th issue of the magazine includes a dossier about the industrial investment forum in Al-Qassim organized by GOIC in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Unaizah Province and MISC GROUP of Advisory Services and Development Projects under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Emir of the region of Al-Qassim. The forum was held at King Fahad Cultural Centre in Unaizah from the 21st till the 23rd of October 2014. During this forum, GOIC presented investment opportunities worth almost 813 million riyals and capable of providing approximately 561 job opportunities in the areas of pharmaceutical, food and agricultural industries.

 
Similarly to previous issues, the 110th issue features a report about food industries in GCC countries which are becoming increasingly under the spotlight based on their key role in achieving Gulf food security. According to the report, food industries form an essential part of the manufacturing industries in GCC countries. In fact, 2013 statistics reveal that food industries’ share of the total manufacturing industries was nearly 11.8%, 4.9% of the total invested capital and 14.2% of the total number of workers.

Furthermore, Engineer Ali Bahzad wrote an article entitled “GCC food security in a changing world” in which he opines: “The shift from a consumer society to a productive society requires entrepreneurs and business owners to adopt sought-after business activities, notably food industries. In fact, although the region suffers from the scarcity of rain and fresh water for irrigation, some Gulf countries with abundant labour force have built food factories and focused on livestock and fisheries to avoid food shortages.”

Moreover, Mr. Mamdouh Habra, economic expert at GOIC, wrote an article entitled: “Features and performance indicators of foreign trade in GCC countries”. In this article, Mr. Habra indicates that the United Arab Emirates ranked first in terms of volume of trade with all countries (approximately 611.9 billion USD in 2012), followed by Saudi Arabia (544.7 billion USD), Qatar (159.1 billion USD), Kuwait (142.1 billion USD), Oman (80.2 billion USD) and Bahrain (36.8 billion USD).  

Editor-in-Chief Mrs. Abir Adel Jaber’s article “Women, partners in industrial development” reads: “Gulf countries offered opportunities to women to play a role in the industrial sector. Strategies were developed to make women a key partner in economic matters, and it all started with vocational training for women as part of the capacity building process. In this regard, Saudi Arabia contributed by offering vocational training for women, resulting in skilled craftswomen. In addition, several “productive households” initiatives were taken in Gulf countries and proved to be valuable at the level of national economies and the participation of citizens in socio-economic development and increasing its contribution to the national income.” Mrs. Jaber mentions a number of prominent female figures in the industrial world, and added: “several women will follow in their steps backed by the wise policies of our governments to empower women in light of their equally important role within societies.”

Dr. Nozad al-Hiti wrote an analysis entitled “Assessing human development performance in GCC countries between 1980 and 2013”, Mr. Said Khalil Al-Absi wrote “The transfer, localisation and production and industrial technology” while Mr. Bashir Al-Kahlout’s article is entitled “The end of the decrease of industrial licenses in Saudi Arabia” and Journalist Jamal Banoun’s article is about “Australia changes the automobile production trend”, in addition to several economic and industrial articles.

This issue also features a report about workshops and specialised training held by GOIC during the third trimester of 2014 under the umbrella of the Training and Capacity Development Program (TCD). It also lists upcoming workshops aiming at building capacities of industrial sector staff in GCC countries and Yemen and increasing their level of knowledge and performance in this vital sector in the region and all over the world.

An industrial investment opportunity entitled “The manufacture of decorative polystyrene sheets” is detailed, in addition to the Magazine’s standard sections such as “GOIC News”, “Upcoming Industrial Events”, “Industrial Sector News” and other topics.

The Industrial Cooperation in the Arabian Gulf Magazine is a quarterly periodical issued by the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC). It features articles about GCC industrial and economic trends and new technologies. The magazine also tackles different economic topics including brief and in-depth analyses concerning the current economic and industrial situation. Furthermore, it includes reports about the industrial sector in the Gulf and challenges to new industries in particular. In addition to that, it features summaries about relevant industrial, economic and financial topics and articles regarding the current industrial environment, industrial statistics with forecasts, industrial data and information technologies and industrial management. A full version of the magazine is available on www.goic.org.qa.