Written by: Yasser bin Salem Al-Husseini

The Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting held two training workshops titled "Industrial and Commodity Classifications" and "Introduction to the Gulf Industrial Gateway," in cooperation with the Entrepreneurship Department of the General Secretariat of the GCC. The workshops were conducted remotely via Zoom, with 59 trainees participating from GCC countries and several other countries around the world.

The program of the two workshops included several key topics. The "Industrial and Commodity Classifications" workshop was divided into two main parts. The first part covered the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC), providing an introduction to ISIC, its history, developments, objectives, and the necessity of its applications in the industrial field. Additionally, it introduced the ISIC Revision 4, the main structure of the classification, and sections on manufacturing, food products, and industrial indicators.

The second part of the workshop program discussed commodity classification from the perspective of the Harmonized System (HS code), covering the concept of customs tariffs or the harmonized system, an overview of the HS, its objectives, codes, and its relationship with ISIC. It also explained the arrangement of goods in the HS schedule, with practical examples and demonstrations of HS codes.

The second workshop, titled "Introduction to the Gulf Industrial Gateway," included both theoretical and practical aspects. The theoretical section introduced the "Gulf Industrial Gateway," one of the essential databases developed by the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting. This section explained the outputs and features of the gateway, provided an overview of the organization’s databases, the details and contents of each database, the data sources feeding these databases, and the classifications used in categorizing the databases. It also included a general overview of the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting, the services it provides, and a brief about the Industrial Information Department.

The practical section included a demonstration on how to use the Gulf Industrial Gateway to extract industrial, commercial, and economic reports and how to navigate the dashboards available on the Gulf Industrial Gateway.

The activities of the two workshops also included an interactive session aimed at allowing participants to discuss the main topics covered and to respond to participants' inquiries.

The workshops were presented by experts Saleh Taha and Hatem Al-Rashid from the Industrial Information Department, under the Directorate of Industrial Studies and Policies at the organization.

The Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC) is the Gulf's premier consulting institution, specialized in providing industrial consulting services in GCC countries. The organization offers high-quality consulting services in industrial development, economic information, and market requirements, leveraging exceptional competencies and strategic regional and international cooperation. It also supports targeted industrial sectors in GCC member states by introducing industrial investment opportunities and providing up-to-date information and reports on industry and industrial economics, as well as marketing them. GOIC serves its clients with highly professional services, added-value research, and information and consultations on industrial and economic development in the GCC, which clients consider a unique service.