DIGNITARIES, central bank representatives, the region's largest insurance & takaful companies, economists, thought leaders and experts converge at the Middle East's leading insurance platform on Tuesday in Manama, Bahrain at the 12th annual Middle East Insurance Forum (MEIF). With the strategic support of the Central Bank of Bahrain, MEIF 2016 hosted 400 insurance leaders who gathered to deliberate on new strategies to assess the direction of the industry and chart new ways for its growth. The Executive Director of Financial Institutions Supervision at the Central Bank of Bahrain, Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Baker, opening the inaugural session, said: "The Middle East insurance industry has built a strong foundation over the last several years and, looking forward to continued exciting growth prospects. The 12th annual Middle East Forum will set the stage to promote the GCC's new insurance landscape. Bahrain has become a well-established hub for insurance, reinsurance and takaful firms for the Middle Eastern region and the Central Bank of Bahrain will continue to support this progress by providing a strong framework essential for the insurance industry to flourish." Mark Cooper, the Middle East's representative for Lloyd's, presented keynote address outlining the present GCC insurance landscape. Cooper's remarks were followed with an exceptional line-up of seasoned and respected industry practitioners who addressed the path toward more integrated GCC insurance markets. They included well-known figures like Peter Hodgins, Partner at Clyde & Co, Scott Lim, Associate Director Supervision at Dubai Financial Services Authority and Mahomed Akoob, Managing Director of Hannover ReTakaful. The conveners of MEIF, Middle East Global Advisors - an intelligence platform serving the Middle East North Africa Southeast Asia (MENASEA) region for the last 22 years also launched the "Finance Forward Middle East Insurance Outlook Report 2016," a comprehensive guide for the insurance leader to navigate the region's new insurance landscape in 2016. The afternoon's discussions was led by industry leaders such as Simon Owen, Director at Ensurion W.L.L, Jehad Ali Khalfan Sultan, Head of Insurance Program at Gulf Petrochemical Industries Co. (GPIC), Sanjay Jain, Director & MENA Insurance Advisors Leader at EY and Mohamed Seghir, Vice President, Europe, Middle East & Africa at Swiss Reinsurance Company. The concluding session will witness presentation of MEIF Institutional Excellence Awards.
