KUWAIT: (From left) Yousef Al-Ibrahim, Khalid Mahdi, and Khaled Al-Hashash attend the press conference. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

KUWAIT: The General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development (GSSCPD) held a press conference yesterday to announce a national exhibition under the auspices of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The Knowledge Transfer and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) expo takes place on February 20-22, 2017.

Khaled Mahdi, Secretary-General of the GSSCPD, said that the expo is applying the recommendations of the 'Contemporary Functions of States from a Knowledge Economy Perspective' national conference which was held under the auspices of the Amir in February, which shows the seriousness of the government in supporting and enhancing the knowledge economy system in Kuwait by increasing institutional and community awareness and involvement of the private sector in financing, implementation, management of activities and knowledge projects.

He noted that the idea of the expo is to transfer knowledge through small and medium enterprises, as the development plan aims to enable the private sector to lead development through partnership between the public and private sectors represented in the partnership body or through privatization of some sectors of the state by the Supreme Council, or through the body to encourage direct investment, as well as the development of small and medium enterprises.

Mahdi stressed the importance of enhancing the knowledge-based economy that makes a platform to connect all parties to achieve the desired goals through the national expo. "I hope that through this exhibition, we can deliver knowledge, creative goods and investment opportunities and present them directly to young Kuwaitis, investors and initiators to start economic and commercial activities in Kuwait," he pointed out.

Youth projects

Yousef Al-Ibrahim, Advisor at the Amiri Diwan, said that the Diwan was the first supporter of the project, pointing out that His Highness' orders are to support youth projects that reflect on the private sector and initiatives. "The Amiri Diwan has supported the knowledge economy conference before, because we believe that the knowledge-based economy can propel the Kuwaiti economy to advanced stages quickly," he said.

Khalid Al-Hashash, Head of Kuwait Center for Knowledge, added that the exhibition focuses on four sectors - energy (include all related industries, especially renewable energy and gas), information and communication technology, light industry and finally public health and beauty. He said that the expo aims to attract more than 300 international companies operating in the above sectors from 15 countries from Asia, America and Europe.

The Knowledge Transfer Expo is an annual knowledge economy flagship event. Each year, a new theme is chosen that focuses on a specific knowledge economy applications in the business world. This year, the expo provides a one-stop marketplace featuring a full range of knowledge-based business opportunities and solutions for small- and medium-sized enterprises.

By Faten Omar