In a capacity as a Notary Public, Mary has joined the Global Trade Network which is based at Luton Chamber of Commerce. She attended her first networking event on the 8th July where fascinating talks were given on trading by Ahmed Suleiman MBE KFO and Dominic James head of Middle East and Africa British Expertises. They were speaking about the countries: Libya, Qatar, Yemen, Iraq, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Bahrain, UAE, Kuwait, Syria, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
Ahmed spoke about social and traditional customs, language, culture, history and religion, and how these cultural differences affect the rules of courtesy and negotiation. Interestingly and contrary to the impression which the West may have, he told us that 40% of businesses in Saudi Arabia are owned by women. He also told us that the majority of the population is under the age of 21.
The region has been relatively been isolated by the financial crises affecting the rest of the world (although not immune). He spoke about the use of agents, distributors, lawyers and the advantages and disadvantages of using such services.
He summarised his talk by saying quotes in the Arab world by quoting the following quote:
‘In the Arab world, hospitality is the mother of all virtues and the corner stone of all social interaction. Your reputation and family will depend on it.’
Dominic spoke principally about Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt and also spoke briefly about Libya and Iraq. Dominic spoke about the historical context and the geography of the area touching on the start of civilization in the fertile crescent which now runs through Iraq. He spoke about the fascinating archaeology and history and in particular of Lebanon and Libya, and analysed Britain’s trading relationship with each of the countries which he spoke of (for example, UK is the largest foreign investor in Egypt; companies such as BP, Shell, BG, Vodafone, HSBC, Barclays, AstraZeneca, GSK and Unilever are all major investors). He spoke about massive projects which are underway, for example in Jordan a huge area known as Abdali is being regenerated where a huge area of the town is being built. He also spoke about a $5 billion new city called Aqaba which is being built in Jordan. He had lived in Lebanon for about six years and was clearly very fond of the country advising that despite all the political difficulties, Lebanon is statistically safer than London (a point which he made in relation to many of the countries which he spoke about).
Mary is unlikely to be trading with anyone in the Middle East (she is still trying to work out how to put her photos on EBay to start trading there!) but this was a fascinating insight into the experiences into her many notarial clients who trade principally with the UAE but also with other countries in the Middle East with two well delivered and very informative talks.
