5th Businessmen Conference in Aden: Did It Achieve its Goals? [Archives:2001/04/Business & Economy]
January 22 2001
More than 480 businessmen participated in the sessions, 45 of them Yemeni immigrant businessmen from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Tanzania and Kenya.
The conference sessions presented and discussed issues related to investment and human resources development. Participating businessmen and investors presented several serious questions and projects in regard to investing their assets in Yemen. They all expressed hopes that the government would respond positively to the dilemmas raised and the challenges facing investors in Yemen, as well as fully implementing the investment law which is supposed to secure investments in the country.
Participants expressed their gratitude for the efforts exerted by the Ministry of Immigration, which according to immigrant businessmen played a vital role in communicating with immigrant communities and in approaching Yemeni investors abroad.
The conference held its opening session in the Aden Hotels Palestine Hall, in which a political speech was made by the Governor of Aden, Mr. Taha Ahmed Ghanem. In his statement, Mr. Ghanem assured the participants that President Ali Abdullah Saleh is concerned and interested in creating the adequate atmosphere facilitating investment in the Republic of Yemen. Mr.Ghanam added that recently, a number of measures have been taking to encourage investors to invest in land and real estate all over the country. He further pointed out that there are intense efforts to encourage investors to launch their own projects in the Aden Free Zone.
Later during the opening session, Mr. Ahmed Mohamed Sofan, Minister of Planning and Development said in his speech that the governments concern is focused on cooperating with the private sector to push developmental projects further. He added that the conference would certainly promote ideas that should be discussed by government and businessmen alike.
Other speeches were given by Mr. Mohamed Omer Bamashmous, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Aden, Mr. Ibraheem Abdulrashid, the Under Secretary of the Ministry of Immigrants, Mr. Abdullah Asunidar, Chairman of the Sanaa Chamber of Commerce, and prominent businessman, Mr. Ahmed Saleh Bin Mahfoudh.
To assess the success of the conference, and whether it achieved its goals Yemen Times interviewed a number of participants to get their opinions regarding the conference.
The issue of Human Resources Development
Mr. Abdosalm Alathori, General Manager of the Yemen Industrial Society praised the efforts that led to the holding of the conference and stated that the holding of businessmens conferences on a regular basis has become a positive phenomena due to the efforts of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Aden.
The lack of human resources development in Yemen is a dilemma forming a major obstacle for investors in Yemen. Developing human resources is a vital aspect that if properly carried out would help diminish unemployment and enable us to train and qualify Yemeni labor instead of importing skilled expatriate workers from abroad. I am glad that this issue has been raised in the conference, as it was about time we did so, he said.
Nothing New in the Conference
This is the fifth time I attend the businessmens conference in Aden, as I have attended all the conferences since the beginning. But as I see it, I find nothing new on the surface, stated Mr. Saleh Omer Ali Salam Almohamadi, an immigrant and a housing-field investor. He later added, As usual, there was nothing more than discussions, recommendations and decisions resulting from this conference, just like all the previous conferences. All that results from these events is no more than ink on paper.
Mr. Almohamadi desperately continued, We only want our homeland to present us what is being offered to us by other countries in the region. We are serious in planning to invest here, but facilities, stability, security and a clean judicial system, as well as good coordination, and knowing whom to deal with in the authorities, are things that are of vital importance to us, but are simply not available. As investors, we need legal protection. There ought to be well-enforced laws to protect investors and their investments. I have been suffering from many dilemmas with my investments in this country for more than ten years now. There are some departments that are too selfish and seem not to care about the countrys overall interests.
Saudi Instruction to Invest in Yemen
The Head of the Yemeni Community in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Taha Mohamed Noman Alhimyari, described the activities of the conference as theoretical and artificial. Yemen Times asked Mr. Alhimyari about what is needed by serious investors and he replied, We came here not to listen to theories. This is not a scientific conference. We admit the presence of some honest officials, but there is much more to be done. The government of Saudi Arabia had instructed Yemeni-Saudi investors to invest in Yemen. But there should be solid action by the Yemeni government to give us a start.
Our investment orientations will be in areas of industry, trade and state properties. Mr. Alhimyari added.
Businesswoman Presence in the Conference
It was a delightful surprise to see that there were some businesswomen participating in the Fifth Businessmens Conference in Aden. Yemen Times was able to talk to Ms. Najat Jumaan, Assistant Professor in Business Administration, Sanaa University and Deputy General Manger for Finance and Administration affairs at Ahmed Mohamed Jumaan Cooperation, to get her views on the conference. I have attended the conference as an academic not as a businesswoman, she said.
I want to say that this is the first time the three most influential parties are involved in a businessmens conference. By the three parties, I mean the government, private sector, and academia. I realized that when those three parties met, the conference would become an opportunity to discuss various issues, including the two main issues of investment challenges and human resources developments, she added.
She further continued, Mr. Bamashmous has spoken about the difference between subscription and stock shares on one hand and subscription and circulation on the other, and how people circulate them wrongly. Our duty in the conference was to clarify to the public such misunderstood concepts and wrong implementations and create a common language with obvious and clear structures to facilitate working for the same goals.
Resolutions must be implemented
Sheikh Saleh Salem Bathawwab, a prominent businessman and the Chairman of the Executive Administration of the National Cigarettes and Industry Limited, praised the quality of the conference and the efficient participation of university professors as well as government representatives. Mr. Bathawwab said in his statement to Yemen Times, I hope that the recommendations and decisions that came out of the conference will satisfy the purposes of the whole event, and that solutions to all the problems facing investors and businessmen will be provided by the government. Among such requirements is the enforcement of available laws. Investors must be given their rights without unnecessary delay. The resolutions that came out of the conference should be fully studied and implemented by the concerned authorities as soon as possible.
Demand to Cancel the Insurance Law
Mr. Abdullah Ahmed Albeiti, a prominent businessman and the Head of the Yemeni Community in Tanzania, described the constant contact between immigrant Yemeni investors abroad and those inside Yemen as representing a healthy phenomena that should continue. However, he added, As investors, we seek safety and security. We hope that the government would cancel the previously issued insurance law. Otherwise, investors will continue to be concerned about their investments and assets in Yemen. We also look forward to witnessing more seriousness from the government in facilitating investment procedures for Yemeni immigrant investors.
Lack of Paper Pre-evaluation
Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim, a business administration professor, and the former President of the Royal University, currently chairman of the Arab Consultation House in Cairo, told Yemen Times that the activities of the conference, as well as the subjects it focused on, were of vital importance because investment is the basis of any development. But regarding the working papers presented in the conference he said, there should have been a committee to pre-evaluate which papers were suitable and which were not suitable for presentation. The papers should have been based on their ability to help reaching practical solutions and conclusions.
Mr. Ibrahim added, I presented a working paper on the role of the chambers of commerce in the process of preparing and promoting human resources. The paper focused on how much Yemeni chambers of commerce could help in developing human resources using the limited funds and resources available. The paper included some recommendations to assist them in facing investment problems in the Republic of Yemen.
Our Main Concern is the Land
Furthermore, Yemen Times interviewed prominent businessman Hussein Saleh Al-Humami who said, This is the first time I attend a Businessmens Conference, which focused on many theoretical issues , in particular the issue of human resources development. But what is important is how to implement the mentioned proposals. That will only happen if we focus on encouraging investors and facilitate their work.
In regard to the demands of investors, he added, Our demands as investors are simple and straightforward. They are mainly for the creation of an investor-friendly environment, facilitating investment related procedures, and removing obstacles facing investment.
About his own investment experience, Mr. Humami said, I started my investments in Yemen with a housing complex and a car rental agency. I still have many ambitions for the future, but none of them could become a reality without the removal of the obstacles and problems facing us.
The main concern for our investment plans is not finding land to build on. Even if there were land available there would also be problems associated with this land. As you know, there are countless problems facing investors in regard to land purchase and ownership, he concluded
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