Building on the steady success of the Gulfood Conferences over the past few years, the programme has been expanded this year to include a franchising workshop in addition to a series of intense, highly specialised briefings covering topics that range from finance to legal to sourcing strategies. The Food Leaders’ Summit and Food Processing and Packaging Forum will also run alongside.
Policymakers
The highlight of the event is a day of discussion, led by ministers and private sector officials. After an opening address by Shaikha Lubna Al Qasimi, UAE’s Minister of Foreign Trade, Sana Toukan, Euromonitor Head of Research Middle East, will moderate a discussion on whether the future of food is being shaped by big businesses, consumers or public policy.
Expert speak
A panel of experts will seek to determine the degree of involvement of governments in the vendor-buyer relationship and how they feature in the equation.
Vishal Tikku, Managing Director, GCC and Middle East Shared Services Kraft Foods (part of the Mondelez International Group of Companies) will also discuss food consumption and sustainability in a separate panel.
The private sector’s role in food security will be examined by a panel including Dan Glickman, Former US Secretary of Agriculture, and Essa Al Ghurair, Vice Chairman, Al Ghurair Investment and Chairman, Al Ghurair Resources. With one in seven of the world’s population hungry, Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates an exponential population growth in the decades to come. The panel will discuss how we can feed the next generation and why it should matter to big businesses.
