http://www.english.hadhramaut.info Arab Firms To Expand Their Business To Africa [The Source: www.coastweek.com - 18/12/2009] Arab bank willing to invest in projects enabled the African countries to gain self-sufficiency in food. Arab companies plan to expand their consultancy business in Africa with the view of reaping from the current accelerated implementation of huge multi-billion dollars infrastructural projects Consultancy firms from the Arab world which have been meeting their counterparts in Africa in Nairobi resolved late Thursday to take advantage of the current infrastructural business in the African region a year after the emergence of the global financial crisis.At the consultancy firms meeting under the umbrella of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), the experts said their interest is to participate in technology transfer and assist in enabling African governments to explore and exploit huge opportunities in various sector of the economy for instance, energy, tourism, environmental and social sectors. During the three-day forum, the professionals also formed a Federation of African and Arab Consultants (FAAC) to assist in exploiting the huge business potential in the region."We have decided to form the Federation of African and Arab Consulting Firms (FAAC) to push for our course. We want to take advantage of the infrastructural development in the two regions.Infrastructure was one of the sectors which was not hit by the global economic recession," Moncef Ziani, the newly elected FAAC president told journalists.Ziani will be deputized by six vice-presidents from other Africa countries. He said the forum resolved to have Nairobi act as the temporary office pending resolution by the executive committee.Ziani, who is the general manager of the CID Engineering and Development Consultants in Morocco , said BADEA would take a leading role in funding agriculture and infrastructural developments in Africa .Ziani said the Arab bank was willing to invest in projects that would enable African countries to gain self-sufficiency in food through increased agricultural investments. He said the bank and the federation should act as an institution to anchor cooperation between African and Arab states in joint infrastructure projects. The forum, whose aim is to encourage greater cooperation between Arab and African consulting firms, is a continuation of the first and second fora, which were held in Cairo (June 2007) and Tunis (November 2008), with the aim of reaching an effective partnership between African and Arab consulting firms. "We are particularly interested in enhancing our consultancy business following the current enthusiasm by African governments to improve the infrastructure sector with the view of taming the effects of the global credit crunch crisis," Ziani said. Ziani said the Arab countries partnering with their counter parts in Africa will necessitate production of quality services and more so at a time like this when the world is facing serious challenges key among them global warming and economic recession."Our key mission to mobilize synergy in consultancy sector and exploit the much endowed potential in Africa and its environs," he added. Kenya's Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance Joseph Kinyua who closed the two-day meeting commended the formation of the new consultancy institution saying it will assist in the process of developing projects, contracting, supervising engineering works and undertaking technology and financial feasibility studies. "The successful implementation of projects entirely depends on the professionalism and competence of the consulting firms," he stated.Kinyua also called for more Arab investments in Kenya and hailed the Arab Bank for its investments in the country, calling on Arabian investors to invest in the country.He added that the new partnership will still facilitate transfer of knowledge and technology among the Afro-Arab consultancy firms and earn the development experiences for the benefit of African and Arab experts. In Kenya , Knyua said, consultancy business accounts for about 1 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product ( GDP ) adding the low uptake is further necessitate by lack of competent capacity to undertake issues at hand.  More than 40 consulting firms from over 30 Arab and African countries attended the two-day forum which was being held within the framework of BADEA's objectives to develop and strengthen Afro- Arab cooperation through actively involving the economic and financial stakeholders in fostering cooperation between both regions.