Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec) has been chosen as the venue for the 2012 congress of UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry.

The event, which is UFI’s 79th annual global meeting, will be the very first time a venue from the Arabian Gulf will be hosting a UFI congress.

"We have been hoping for a long time to be able to bring the UFI congress to Abu Dhabi and are really delighted that our 2012 event will be hosted by Adnec,” said Paul Woodward, managing director of UFI, whose members manage more than 4,500 exhibitions and 181 exhibition centres worldwide.

“Abu Dhabi generously hosted UFI's Middle East/Africa office for the past five years. So, we are really excited to be able to share with our 550 members in 84 countries the magnificent facilities and exciting developments there which we know very well.”

“This will, we're certain, be a really memorable UFI Congress, all the more special for being the first one we've held in the Arabian Gulf region,’ he added.

Ali Saeed Bin Harmal Al Dhaheri, Adnec’s managing director, said: “The opportunity to host this prestigious event is a very significant win for Abu Dhabi and for Adnec. It provides us a wonderful opportunity to showcase both our city and our venue to leaders from the exhibitions industry.”

“We are very gratified to note this multi-pronged approach to promote our city and our event facilities to the world, is bearing fruit and we very much look forward to welcoming UFI members in November 2012,” he concluded. – TradeArabia News Service