Chartered Insurance Institute to establish first office in the Middle East at the Dubai International Financial Centre

The world’s leading professional organisation for the insurance and financial services industry, the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), is to establish an office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) early in 2006, its first permanent base in the region. On 20th November 2005 a reception to mark this occasion will be held at the DIFC.
The office will enable the CII to cement its existing connections in the Middle East and provide a local service to help the DIFC in its plans to establish a centre of excellence for the insurance industry in the region.
CII Director General Dr Alexander Scott says, “This is a hugely exciting venture and indicates our commitment to supporting the development and raising of standards in technical practice and ethical behaviour amongst insurance practitioners in the Middle East.
“Initial forecasts suggest that well over 20,000 insurance professionals will be working at the DIFC within a matter of years and there is a real need for the respected, authoritative qualifications that the CII provides.”
Mr. Mark Greenwood has been appointed CII’s Head of Regional Business Development for the region, and will be putting in place the local resources to support its activities.
Dr Omar Bin Sulaiman, Director General of DIFCA welcoming the CII commented at the reception, “We are delighted with the arrival of the CII to DIFC. One of the objectives of the DIFC is to contribute to the development of the insurance and reinsurance industry in the region. By providing the right regulatory and infrastructural environment to enable the industry to realise its potential, the DIFC is laying the foundations for the future of the regional insurance industry.
“In order for the public, governments and corporates to have real confidence in the market, they need to know that the industry is being run by the best people. And the CII, with its world-class training and development programmes, will enable this to happen.
“The DIFC vision is very clear – we aim to shape tomorrow’s financial map as a global gateway for capital and in the process be a catalyst for regional economic growth. Fitting into our vision are numerous strategic goals. One of the most important strategic goals for the DIFC is to create a knowledge economy for the region and Dubai. We would like to build a qualified talent pool and become a hub for financial services education, training, product development and innovation. Our affiliation with the Chartered Insurance Institute, the world’s leading professional organisation for the insurance and financial services industry, is a reinforcement of our aim. We are very proud and honoured to have the CII establish their first office in the region at the DIFC.”
Fetooh Al Zayani, Head of Insurance and Reinsurance at the DIFC commented, “The CII was our first choice for insurance because of the well known and very strong brand name internationally but especially in the DIFC region. We hope to work closely with the CII to develop a curriculum that will serve the region's needs and assist us in raising the profile and standards of our regional insurance industry.”
CII qualifications are recognised world-wide as objective measures of commitment and knowledge. There are currently 930 CII members in the Middle East of which 200 have the highly acclaimed professional level Associateship (ACII) qualification.
The CII will play a major role from its base at DIFC helping to ensure a ready supply of technically competent, qualified people and, through CII membership which requires individuals to abide by a Code of Ethics and Conduct, support the development of an ethical framework for practitioners.