His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, inaugurated yesterday the fifth session of the Sharjah Foreign Direct Investment Forum under the slogan "Future Transformations in Foreign Direct Investment".
The forum witnessed the launch of the Sharjah Investor Services Center (SAID), which operates a single window system.
His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi honored the sponsors and speakers at the conference, and inspected the departments and pavilions of the departments, institutions, organizations and companies participating in the exhibition accompanying the conference.
The fifth session of the Forum will include 1500 personalities and 54 speakers in 12 sessions, including eight main panel sessions, four private sessions, five workshops, and a DFM forum on the IPO.
Foreign investment
Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, said in a speech that the UAE has achieved a good rise in the cumulative foreign investment received by the end of 2018, which exceeded $ 140.3 billion by 8%, pointing out that the country ranked second globally in signing investment agreements International Bilateral, and third in the world in terms of new FDI projects announced.
He said that the UAE is not isolated from global markets, but has an open economy and is vitally linked to the global economy, stressing that the declining trend of foreign direct investment in the world did not have a negative impact on the country's ability to attract investment.
Flexibility of legislation
Marwan bin Jassim Al Serkal, CEO of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), said that the pace of development requires flexibility in legislation, regulations and infrastructure, to accommodate the new, create a stimulating environment to invest in innovations, free ideas and unleash energies, and consider education and its future directions. And its outputs.
He continued: «Future directions of investment imposed on us by the rapid and successive booms of technologies, and communities deal with them, as companies are now relying on artificial intelligence to review commercial contracts in 26 seconds and accurately up to 94% compared to 92 minutes when the human reading, and accuracy does not exceed 85%».
He pointed out that this artificial intelligence will lead the growth in the world, and will be able to add 2.9 trillion dollars to global output, or 6.2 billion hours of work.
The CEO of Shurooq explained that the Arab world has a great opportunity to compete in future investments. The UAE always strives to keep pace and develop, as it has a council and ambassador for the fourth industrial revolution, a minister of artificial intelligence, centers for innovation and advanced training. In Sharjah, knowledge has always been at the center of all sectors, including the economy, and for this purpose it has established the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park, where the emirate has focused on a community of innovations.
Happy Center
Mohammed Juma Al Mashrekh, Executive Director of the Sharjah FDI Office (Invest in Sharjah), pointed out Sharjah's efforts to support investors and provide solutions for investment activity.
He continued: «Since the beginning of its career, Sharjah has been keen to diversify its economic sectors, as well as legislation, and in parallel with the support of scientific research and the development of academic institutions and the enhancement of cultural structure, the economic structure came balanced», pointing out that the balance protects against shocks and decline and confusion, and allows investors different options The strategic allocation of capital does not inflate one sector at the expense of another.
During his speech, Al Mashreq revealed the launch of the Sharjah Investor Services Center (SIDC), indicating that the center will start receiving investors directly and providing services to them from its headquarters in Al Qasba.It will operate a one-window system for all government investment services in the Emirate of Sharjah and within a record time to issue commercial licenses. And obtain the necessary approvals for the establishment of new projects.
Solutions for happiness
Former head of business at Google X Technology Solutions, entrepreneur and author of Solutions for Happiness, Mo Jawdat, addressed his work experience and concept of happiness. "This era is characterized by a smooth and rapid transformation, so that we do not feel the transition from one invention to another, which requires more flexibility in thinking and planning for the future."