Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, chief executive officer of Expo Centre Sharjah, will now spearhead the growth of the meetings and exhibitions industry in the Middle East and Africa region.
 
Midfa was chosen as the chairman of the Middle East/African Chapter of the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI), Paris. It was announced at the recently concluded UFI Open Seminar in Marrakech.
 
In his capacity of both UFI’s Regional Chapter and International Association of Exhibitions and Events’ (IAEE) Gulf Chapter, will help shape the future growth of the meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) industry of the region.
 
“It is an extremely proud moment for both me and Expo Centre Sharjah. I feel honoured to be elected as the chief of the regional chapters of two prestigious associations that set the growth agenda for the global meetings and exhibitions industry. These back to back recognitions are indeed overwhelming,” said Midfa.
 
The UFI Middle East/African Chapter currently has 67 members and the number of shows held in the region runs into more than 900 business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) exhibitions.

Globally, UFI represents 650 member organisations in 83 countries and more than 928 trade fairs and exhibitions organised by its members carry the UFI-approved tag.
 
“The new responsibility gives me an opportunity to work for the continued success of our members and the regional MICE industry. The fact that the UFI Middle East/Africa regional office is at Expo Centre Sharjah also helps in improving coordination among the regional members,” said Midfa.
 
Midfa believes that given the plethora of opportunities and challenges like geo-political and financial risks facing the region and the industry, the UFI regional chapter will have a key role to play in working for the mutual benefit and development of the members.
 
The main objectives of the UFI regional chapters are to discuss specific problems and ideas concerning their region, to encourage cooperation between members within their region, and to promote UFI in their region and encourage additional membership. - TradeArabia News Service