Middle East & Africa Regional Meeting 2018 - Dubai

November 2018

The 2018 Middle East & Africa Regional Meeting was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on 15-16 November 2018. 

Delegates were welcomed to Dubai with a dinner at JW Marriott Marquis Hotel, which gave everyone the opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and meet new Russell Bedford members.

Director of Russell Bedford (Dubai) Limited and partner of Russell Bedford’s London member Lubbock Fine, Naresh Shah, opened the meeting with a welcome address and introduction.

This was followed by an update on global network developments by Russell Bedford CEO, Stephen Hamlet, who made particular reference to the representatives from four new members this year within the region; Bahrain, Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania. Stephen also confirmed the network’s recent growth of 38% in Africa and 24% in the Middle East, with more applications in the pipeline from firms within the region.

The morning session consisted of presentations from all in attendance, about developments in their practices and national updates including economic backgrounds, financial performances and challenges affecting firms.

After lunch, we had the pleasure of welcoming guest speaker, Sunita Singh-Dalal, Counsel at law firm, Stephenson Harwood Middle East LLP, who discussed Evolution of the Family Office & Succession Planning in the UAE – in particular, how to use a DIFC Single Family Office (SFO) trust arrangement for wealth management / inheritance in a Sharia law context.

The final session of the day was led by Stephen Hamlet, facilitating a thought-provoking roundtable discussion on working together, growing the network and getting more from Russell Bedford membership within the Middle East and Africa; a session that generated some fantastic interaction and ideas among the attending delegates.

The meeting concluded with an informal dinner, which allowed delegates to continue their conversations with friends and colleagues in a more relaxed setting while building and enhancing relationships.

We thank our hosts, John Donnelly and his team for their assistance in such a productive meeting for a very important and progressive region.