How to do business with the Gulf?

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia hosted a business event “How to do business with the Gulf?”, organized as part of the founding congress of the Slovenian-Arab Business Council. The event offered an overview of opportunities and specific challenges for Slovenian companies in Gulf markets.

I prepared the content and moderated the event. In the introductory part, the guests were addressed by Dr. Žiga Vavpotič, President of the Strategic Council for Internationalization at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, and Dušan Olaj, President of the newly established Slovenian-Arab Business Council.

This was followed by a panel discussion entitled Opportunities and Challenges of Cooperation with Gulf Countries, with the participation of Natalia Al Mansour, Ambassador to Abu Dhabi, Sašo Podlesnik, Ambassador to Cairo, and Nevzet Porić, Mufti of the Islamic Community in Slovenia. The second panel included Ivan Fornazarič (Gorica Group), Dušan Olaj (DUOL), Aleša Mižigoj (Medex Trade), and Nick Lojevec (Combilift / DUOL).

The second panel featured Ivan Fornazarič (Gorica Group), Dušan Olaj (DUOL), Aleša Mižigoj (Medex Trade), and Nick Lojevec (Combilift / 400ft Holding Abu Dhabi). I moderated the discussions with questions about business culture, the role of trust, and practical steps for entering local markets.

The event offered concrete guidance for companies (from preparing bids to diplomatic and cultural “intelligence”) and confirmed that the establishment of a business council is an important step towards long-term integration with partners in the Gulf. The event was followed by business networking.