Abu Dhabi University will host on Monday ‘MegaTrends, Essential Strategic Insights 2009’, a first conference of its kind that will feature presentations and strategic advice from global economic experts.

MegaTrends will be held under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Abu Dhabi University at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi.

The opening address will be given by Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon al Nahyan - chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre and the Tourism Development & Investment Company.

Sheikh Sultan is expected to outline key business, tourism and educational initiatives aimed at winning new business for the emirate and at raising service standards throughout the local industry.

He will also update delegates on performance forecasts for Abu Dhabi’s tourism industry which has been identified by the government as a key economic diversification driver.

Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, the UAE’s Minister of Economy, will also be at the conference to discuss the global macroeconomic situation and the UAE government’s plan to strengthen its economy.

The main keynote speech of the day, and one that is expected to generate huge interest, will be given by Paul Krugman, professor of Economics at Princeton University, and the 2008 Nobel Prize winner for Economics.

He will be talking about the future direction of the global economy, examining the European response to the worldwide economic slump, the effectiveness of the US Administration’s economic policy and looking at which countries are most likely to emerge faster and in better shape from the economic downturn.

Professor Krugman is generally regarded as the foremost authority on economic recovery and an advisor to US president Barak Obama.

He is also the author of several books, including best sellers, The Conscience of a Liberal, The Return of Depression Economics and The Great Unravelling.

Ali Saeed Bin Harmal Al Dhaheri, chairman of ADU, says Megatrends will be central to anyone wanting to plan their organisation’s finances for the future and will offer networking opportunities  with the biggest, best and brightest in the region.

'It will be a key forum for the development of a winning strategy for investment in the region, with the best and brightest industry leaders discussing their predictions.'

'Attendance at this conference will offer delegates the opportunity to extend their investment strategies to new, more profitable sectors across the whole of the GCC and in particular within the UAE allowing the enhancement of an organisation’s competitive advantage with better informed business strategies for the future,' Al Dhaheri noted.

“Attendees will also be in a better position to develop new and improved banking and risk management techniques, enhancing transparency and improving liquidity in the banking and financial systems of the UAE, whilst also getting the inside track on how exposed investments in the property market really are,” he added.

Other highlights of the day include an address by the leading international futurologist Ross Dawson on the technologies that will drive growth and the opportunities presented by social and generational change.

There will also be three separate panel discussions looking specifically at the GCC’s financial landscape, the position of the UAE’s banks and the future of the Gulf’s property market.-TradeArabia News Service