Consultants across the region will soon meet at a conference aimed at enhancing interaction between regional consultants and international peers as well as improving client-consultant relationship.

The 1st International Consultants Conference (ICC) will be held on June 1 and 2 at Grand Hyatt Dubai.

The conference will also highlight the instrumental role played by consultancies in the socio-economic development of any country and work on improving partnership agreements between a consultancy and the client. Also, it will highlight how to identify problems and seek solutions.

Al Maharah Consultancy, the organisers say the size of consultancy industry in the Gulf crossed $900 million in 2008, registering a 15 per cent growth in management, business, marketing and communications counseling services.

Nearly 45 multinational and local agencies are in the business, of which 32 are based in Dubai.

The current financial crisis is expected to give a fresh boost to the consultancy industry in the Gulf, as organizations are increasingly seeking high end counseling services to enhance productivity with lower resources.

“This conference is a forum for decision makers and business people to track best practices and proven solutions,” said Huda Sulaiman Al Jasem, managing director, Al Maharah Consultancy and director of the 1st ICC.

“The conference will highlight the need for high end consultancy for the mirco and macro economics of the gulf region,” he added.

The Gulf region has attracted some of the topmost consultancies, with the majority of them setting up headquarters in Dubai to serve the entire region. They have also tied up with local consultancies to provide them with local knowledge.

With privatisation and restructuring drives, consultancy industry will grow remarkably in spite of the financial crunch.

Al Jasem added: “Consultancies should develop strategies that enhance competitive advantage for companies in the Gulf who are competing for the same set of clients.”

The conference will throw light on the relationship between multinational agencies versus local agencies, private versus government sector expenditure on consultancy, GCC versus Levant as well as seconding consultants versus full timer employees' formula and fees of consultancies at the time of budget cut off.

“Marketing consultancy industry is very important in the Middle East. This conference will help highlight the need for such services amongst companies and organizations from private and public sectors,” concluded Al Jasem. – TradeArabia News Service