The importance of capacity-building and marketing skills has been emphasised as critical to the success of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by a leading Bahraini industry official.

Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC) president Dr Abdulrahman Jawahery also highlighted the need to work to provide appropriate training programmes in specialist marketing skills, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

In a keynote speech at the Fifth Annual Forum of Small and Medium Enterprises held at the Gulf Hotel, he stressed on setting up a marketing plan and to develop export strategies, particularly in the competitive sector and as witnessed by the commercial and industrial entities.

This, he said, should focus on the need for small and medium enterprises to give more attention to export procedures and identify target markets.

Dr Jawahery said it would only be appropriate for the GPIC to share its rich and diverse experience in the matter of exports, marketing and human resources, among others.

He said the forum shed light on the most important tools and strategies for marketing and export of small and medium enterprises and expressed the hope it had been able to achieve its desired objectives.

Dr Jawahery also praised the role of the Bahrain government in promoting such enterprises and said they were being provided all support needed to ensure their growth and development and to become companies of economic significance both within and outside Bahrain and contribute to the national economy.

The event, held under the patronage of Industry and Commerce Minister Zayed Al Zayani, was organised by the Origin Group in co-operation with the Bahraini Association for Small and Medium Enterprises and featured a panel of elite speakers and entrepreneurs from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Turkey and the UK, among others. - TradeArabia News Service