The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI) is organizing an introductory tour of a number of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to promote the "Top 10 GCC Business" Award, one of the categories of the Sharjah Economic Excellence Network (ShjSEEN) Award launched by the Chamber in early 2017.

With this tour, which will begin in Kuwait and Bahrain and later move on to Saudi Arabia and Oman, the SCCI seeks to encourage private sector companies and individuals in these states to participate in this award that aims at encouraging creativity in various economic sectors.

His Excellency Abdallah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman of the SCCI, and Chairman of the Board of of Trustees of ShjSEEN Award, affirmed that this introductory GCC tour is an expression of the SCCI's commitment to contributing to developing the economic role of the private sector and business communities in the Gulf region.

H.E Al Owais said that launching the Top 10 GCC Business Award is based on the Chamber’s efforts and commitment to providing all possible support to private sector firms in the GCC region to help them improve their competitiveness so that they can lead the development of GCC economies and achieve integration and unity among them. He also noted that the SCCI is actively seeking to bolster the role of the private sector in the economic integration process on the GCC level states, not only Sharjah.

“This is made possible by coordinating with other commerce and industry chambers and federations in the Gulf to boost the integration of the Gulf private sector in international economy by developing the performance and efficiency of its establishments in all sectors and improve quality, entrepreneurship, and innovation standards,” Al Owais elaborated.

For her part, Nada Al Hajeri, General Coordinator of the Award said the tour involves meetings with officials involved in quality control, excellence, and awards at Gulf commerce and industry chambers, in addition to organizing introductory seminars in cooperation with these chambers in the states covered by the tour. Al Hajeri explained that the seminars will target major Gulf firms in various economic sector, to educate them about the award, its advantages, conditions, criteria, as well as the methods and dates for participation; in addition to the evaluation mechanisms.

She added that the SCCI launched the "Top 10 GCC Business" Award at the conclusion of the 2016 ShjSEEN Award in order to give the award a regional aspect and to express the Chamber's commitment to bolstering competitiveness among Gulf establishments. Al Hajeri said this will contribute actively to enhancing the performance of the region economy in general, improving the efficiency of major economic establishments, by activating knowledge, experience, and practices exchange.

The Sharjah Economic Excellence Network Award aims at helping public and private sector establishments in Sharjah and the GCC improve their performance by establishing a model for excellence. It also aims at encouraging them to enhance work and enabling the growth of commerce by providing training and evaluation tools established by professional experts and consultants.