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Financial conferences to showcase Scotland's services
02/09/2008
Regular international financial services conferences will help to keep Scotland at the forefront of the global industry, First Minister Alex Salmond said today.
The idea was agreed at today's meeting of the Financial Services Advisory Board (FiSAB), the pioneering collaboration between industry, unions, the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and Universities Scotland.
The proposal follows May's successful Global Financial Services Week which saw 15 business-based events across Scotland, culminating in the Global Financial Services Conference in Edinburgh, which attracted 250 experts with their attention turned to Scotland's place in the world economy.
Speaking after today's FiSAB meeting, the First Minister said:
"Today's meeting comes at a difficult time for financial sector businesses here and across the world. The global economic downturn is affecting all economies, and clearly Scotland is not immune from its impact.
"However, the outlook in Scotland, across the economy, remains more positive with better growth and higher employment than the rest of the UK. In addition, in tough times it is evermore important for Government to take intiatives to strengthen our prospects, and international conferences provide the opportunity for all of us to examine the scope for improving our economic performance.
"Global Financial Services Week undoubtedly helped us raise the profile of our excellence in financial services, cementing Scotland's reputation and highlighting the world leading companies we have here. It is now more crucial than ever to maintain that momentum, so we have agreed that a regular, international event in Scotland is an additional way to showcase all that Scotland has to offer in financial services."
John Campbell, deputy chair of FiSAB and chairman of Scottish Financial Enterprise said:
"With a financial services industry as diverse and internationalised as ours, Scotland is exactly the place to hold an event such as this.
"I very much welcome the fact that today's FiSAB has agreed an event for 2009."
FiSAB is a unique partnership of industry, trade unions and the public sector.