Theme: The Indian Ocean Rim as a New Frontier: How prepared is Africa?
Date: November 15 – 18, 2012

Oil and gas discoveries in the Eastern African region and the quest for markets in Africa by emerging economies is set to transform the value of The Indian Ocean globally. How are African governments and their people prepared to manage the new-found value along the Indian Ocean rim? What are the socio-political and economic opportunities and threats that await the region?

The objectives of this forum include:-

•To assess Eastern Africa’s level of preparedness to manage its new found wealth
•To evaluate transformative aspects of the regions’ global value proposition
•To analyze the socio-political and economic threats and opportunities for the region

IREN invites interested participants to send a 300 word summary of their proposed presentation to Zaina@irenkenya.com and cc events@irenkenya.com by September 30, 2012.

Participation is by invitation only. Early bird applicants from East Africa will either win travel or accommodation scholarship.

About IREN

Founded in 2001, Inter Region Economic Network (IREN) has organized over 80 high profile forums and hosted over 5,000 delegates from across the globe with varied professional backgrounds. The Africa Resource Bank Meeting (ARB) is one of IREN’s key forums that target policy makers, business leaders, media, industry players and academia, for annual brainstorming sessions on various issues that affect Africa.

Previous ARB brainstorming forums have focused on:- Building Africa Through Trade (2003); Property Rights in the African context (2004); Conquering Poverty in Africa through Business (2005); Turning African People into a Resource (2006); Positioning Africa in the 21st Century (2007); Commercializing Africa’s Resources to Promote Prosperity (2008); Probing Governance and Prosperity in Africa (2009) Africa vs. Developed and Emerging Economies: How to Make Africans Win (2010) and Digital Revolution: Opportunity or threat to Africa? (2011).