Although economic news aren’t the highlight of our current press and media coverage as it was a month from now, but an article of the kind “The inauguration of three new exhibitions by Arabian Group for Exhibitions and Conferences” would make one stop and wonder how and why such an economic event is being held despite the circumstances that Syria is going through.

“A big challenge for us and for those around us to make the decision of going on in these hard times we’re experiencing in Syria… and after a brief period of contemplation, we decided, as an organizing company and a group of exhibitors, to go on and not stop despite the fact that we know very well the economic losses that we will be suffering because of such a decision; but we still wanted to convey the message to the world that business is still running and that the wheel cannot stop wholly and that our country Syria is still well.” With those words, Mr. Alaa Hilal, CEO of Arabian Group for Exhibitions and Conferences clarified the reason behind the insistence of his company to inaugurate three of its specialized exhibitions Yesterday evening at Damascus Fairground, Syria.

Mr. Hilal refused the possibility of delaying the exhibitions, asserting that this would have been one of the easiest decisions that the organizing and participating companies could have made. “Delaying is very dangerous on the reputation of exhibition industry in Syria because it gives a negative impression of unprofessionalism and shakes the credibility we’ve built with our clients and the visitors of our exhibitions. That’s why we’ve chosen the harder way, which is proceeding as planned and as we published in all the Arab and foreign media during the course of the year. Other than that, we’ve sent hundreds of visit invitations to our clients from many Arab and foreign countries since the beginning of the year, and it’s not acceptable for us that one of them comes to visit the exhibition and finds its doors closed.”

Arabian Group for Exhibitions and Conferences, which annually organizes 16 specialized exhibitions in all sectors of the economy, has inaugurated Yesterday under the patronage of the Syrian Ministry of Economy and Foreign Trade, three exhibitions which are the International Exhibition for Furniture and Interior Design - INLIFE in its 6th edition, and the 1st editions of the International Exhibition for Cosmetics and Beauty Products - Beauty Care, and Wedding Expo.
Mr. Hilal pointed out the fact that many international companies canceled their participation in the exhibitions because of the false image that the media is conveying about what’s happening in Syria, he revealed that going on with the exhibition comes in the context of asserting that life cannot stop in Syria highlighting that most of the local participating companies came to exhibit, and he underlined the fact that there is a number of official delegations visiting the exhibitions which is always a positive point, among those delegations was an Iraqi delegation from the Federation of Iraqi Chambers of Commerce. Mr. Hilal revealed that many media and advertising campaigns in many magazines, TV channels, and other medias were launched in order to attract visitors and exhibitors to participate at the exhibitions that are organized by the company.

He concluded by addressing the business sector in Syria “I urge business owners in Syria to keep on working hard to maintain the reputation of the Syrian business sector, a reputation that we strived so hard to build” he also expressed his deep gratitude for all the exhibiting companies who, in spite of all the pressure and the financial losses, went on with their participation at the exhibitions.