Sir Martin Sorrell, Group Chief Executive of WPP and Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East, gives his views on some of the issues on the agenda of the meeting which will take place at the Dead Sea from 18-20 May.

As an international business leader, how do you see the business environment and the emerging opportunities in the Middle East?

The growth of our business in the Middle East is substantial and ranks with the growth we see in Asia and Russia, albeit from a lower base. We are extremely bullish about the prospects in the Middle East, despite political uncertainties and volatility. We are seeking to broaden and deepen our areas of activity in the Middle East across all our disciplines – advertising, media investment management, information, insight & consultancy, branding & identity, healthcare and specialist communications. To date, we have very strong, creative and powerful businesses in which we are trying to extend our equity ownership and add further capabilities. Dubai has become a very strong centre, replacing Beirut as the key focal point in the Middle East but our operations span Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Syria.

What is it about the World Economic Forum’s meetings that is different and encouraged you to get involved in this event?

The Forum manages to attract key business leaders, government officials, media owners and editors of a very high calibre. The Forum enables us to review the trends and potential developments in the Middle East and gives us a strong strategic and tactical point of view.

As IT, telecommunications and media and entertainment companies reassess their traditional business models and enter each other’s markets, what will be required for companies to stay competitive?

The opportunities in the Middle East are similar to those we see elsewhere. Two challenges are geographical development and technology. In our industry the traditional media are still growing strongly in the Middle East buttressed by new technologies, particularly mobile and internet. The challenges are similar to Asia, Russia, the other CIS countries and Latin America: expanding our business in the traditional media and developing new media presences.

How can governments in the Middle East attract the innovative power of foreign enterprises into the region, as opposed to just their capital and business development capacity?

The region’s governments need the following in place:

  • An attractive environment for expats and their families so they want to live in the region, as well as the ease of travel in and out of the Middle East.
  • Quality universities attracting top notch professors.
  • A good educational system that gets students into such quality universities.
  • Obviously up-to-date IT and infrastructure.
  • Incentives for companies to invest in R&D in the form of tax relief, priority for their products by government, labour support etc.
  • And of course, good PR and communication firms to guide them at pitch time.
  • Basically they have to follow the Singapore model which is what Dubai, Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain are working at. Even Saudi Arabia is going that route