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Inayat-ur-Rahman

The 12th World Chambers Congress in Dubai, originally scheduled for February 2021, has now been postponed to November 2021 to coincide with the new dates for Expo 2020 Dubai, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry has announced.

Co-organised by Dubai Chamber and the ICC World Chambers Federation, the upcoming Congress will now be held on November 23-25, 2021 under the theme Generation Next: Chambers 4.0.

The global forum, hosted in a different region every two years, is considered as the largest event of its kind, gathering the World Chamber Federation’s global network comprising of 12,000 chambers of commerce from 100 countries.

The Congress is a unique platform for chamber leaders and members to connect and collaborate, share knowledge, promote trade and investment opportunities and explore new solutions and best practices adopted by chambers of commerce from around the world.

Hamad Buamim, President & CEO of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Chairman of the World Chambers Federation, said the decision to postpone WCC 2021 is due to a number of important factors, which include business challenges resulting from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and Expo 2020 Dubai, which has been rescheduled for October 2021.

Buamim described the world expo in Dubai as a key element of the WCC 2021 experience that will provide delegates with plenty of networking and collaboration opportunities and an ideal platform to showcase and learn about innovative solutions.

 “The added nine months delay will allow the ICC-WCF and Dubai Chamber to continue working hand in hand in order to organise a successful event and deliver the best Congress experience possible for our delegates. The theme of WCC 2021 — Generation Next: Chambers 4.0 — is now more relevant than ever before, as chambers around the world realise the need to adapt to a fast-changing business landscape and leverage Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies to better serve their members.

He added that Dubai Chamber and its partners are sparing no effort to deliver an exceptional Congress that will put the spotlight on Dubai as a global business hub at the forefront of innovation offering unparalleled access to the emerging world, in addition to world-class infrastructure and tourist attractions.

Held on the sidelines of the 12th WCC is the World Chambers Competition, which is the only award programme of its kind to recognise innovative projects undertaken by chambers from around the world.

ICC, founded in 1919, the institutional representative of 45 million companies, is the world’s largest business organisation and has played a crucial role as a catalyst of trade. ICC believes that strengthening commercial ties among nations is not only good for business, but also for improving global living standards, reducing inequalities and maintaining peace, a belief that Dubai shares.

Meanwhile, under the directives of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai and General Supervisor of the Dubai: Capital of Islamic Economy initiative, the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC), in collaboration with Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Dubai Chamber), recently announced the new schedule of the fifth edition of the Global Islamic Economy Summit (GIES 2021). The largest convention of Islamic economy stakeholders and experts will now take place from 1 to 2 November 2021, on the sidelines of Expo 2020 Dubai, the first World Expo ever to be hosted in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia region.

The decision to reschedule the annual GIES event follows in-depth consultations with the strategic partners of DIEDC and GIES, to support measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), and enable a larger international audience to attend. The GIES rescheduling also aligns with the Expo 2020 Dubai umbrella postponement. The latter is now set to kick off in October 2021 after the World Expo awarding body said its general assembly had approved a one-year postponement due to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Established in 1965, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry is a non-profit public entity, whose mission is to represent, support and protect the interests of the business community in Dubai by creating a favourable business environment, supporting the development of business, and by promoting Dubai as an international business hub.