Department of Economic Development - Abu Dhabi and strategic partners officially launch Abu Dhabi Economic Media Club

Abu Dhabi The Department of Economic Development - Abu Dhabi, DED, has officially launched the Abu Dhabi Media Club, with the participation of each of the Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi (SCAD), Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (QCC), the Higher Corporation for Specialised Economic Zones (HCSEZ), the Abu Dhabi Council for Economic Development (ADCED) and the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) as official club sponsors. The ceremony to inaugurate the club, organised by the DED at its headquarters, was attended by Mohamed Omar Abdullah, DED's Under-Secretary, Mohamed Hassan Al Qamzi, CEO of HCSEZ, Fahad Saeed Al Raqbani, Director-General of ADCED, Hussain Al Kathiri Secretary-General of QCC and Abdullah Saleh, Executive Vice President of NBAD Group. In a speech given during the inauguration ceremony, Mohammed Omar Abdullah thanked the DED's supporting partners and founders of the Abu Dhabi Economic Media Club, which officially started yesterday with an economic programme that includes many conferences and press and media events to be organised before the end of this year. "Abu Dhabi Economic Media Club is the common platform where we all meet to achieve our common goal to professionally bring to light the main activities and outputs in the economic sector and related fields in order to enhance the relationship of the media with the government entities in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates in general," he said. Abu Dhabi Economic Media Club seeks to achieve particular objectives in its foundation stage which is the implementation of the agenda of events of the DED and its partners, the hosting of the most important economic activities of the concerned authorities, the organisation of conferences, seminars, press releases and specialised lectures in the economic sector of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the strengthening of DED and its strategic partners' leading role in the leadership of the economic public agenda of the Emirate. It also seeks to achieve a number of general goals that focus on promoting the economy of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the determinants and objectives of vision 2030 and make it the first economic platform of the Emirate, the first destination for economic delegations visiting the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and to become the headquarters of the main activities of partner government agencies. The club features in its foundation stage logistical capabilities for the media as it offers a press conference hall and a theatre, both equipped with high-tech audio-visual equipment, interpretation services and a studio for press and television exclusive meetings. The club offers individual memberships for journalists working in the field of economic print, audio, visual or electronic media from within the country. This includes two categories: delegates of local media and foreign media reporters accredited by the National Media Council. The club also offers a corporate membership through government partners and local government and federal agencies in Abu Dhabi at the national level, in addition to the main sponsors and national companies. The Club organises a number of press conferences and special events of the DED and its strategic partners that will continue until the end of the year, including press conferences that begin on Monday with the launch of Family Income and Expenditure Survey of the Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi and the launch of the electronic services of Abu Dhabi Business Centre along with the release of the semi-annual economic report issued by the National Bank of Abu Dhabi and GCC Fund Outlook book about the bank's investment funds in the Gulf during the month of October. The club will also organise other press conferences, notably the launch of the Statistical Yearbook in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi 2013 and the announcement of the Human Development Indicators report in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi 2013 from the Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi, in addition to the report of Economic Forecasts in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (2013-2016) of the Department of Economic Development. Next November, the club will host foreign media representatives, invited by the National Media Council to the country on the occasion of the 42th National Day, to meet with Nasser Ahmed Al Suwaidi, Chairman of the Department and Mohammed Omar Abdullah, Under-Secretary of the Department on this auspicious occasion. It will also hold a press conference in December to launch the Economic Report of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi for the year 2013. – Emirates News Agency, WAM