Global Financial Markets Forum (GFMF), the annual conference organised by the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), will kick off for a two-day conference on March 2nd and 3rd at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. The Forum is designed to offer thought provoking content on major regional and international issues from the perspectives of regulators, asset managers, sovereign wealth funds, bankers and politicians.

This year, NBAD has raised the bar yet again with a roster of high-calibre speakers including H.E. Sheikh Nahayan bin Mabarak Al Nahayan, UAE Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development; Tony Blair, Former Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; H.E. Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and Managing Director of the Dubai Expo 2020 Higher Committee; Dr Mohamed El-Erian, the Chairman of President Obama's Global Development Council and Chief Economic Advisor at Allianz; and Yanis Varoufakis, Former Greece Finance Minister.

The Forum will cover topics on Energy, Renewables, Sovereign Wealth Funds, China's economic outlook, the impact of European debt crises and challenges in the region, the Aviation industry, the changing financial regulatory environment, and Abu Dhabi's plans for development.

Mahmood Al Aradi, Senior Managing Director & Head of Global Markets at NBAD said: 'NBAD's Global Financial Markets Forum has become one of the most prestigious gatherings of influential thought leaders and decision-makers from around the world; it is one of Abu Dhabi's key flagship events, and we continuously strive to raise the bar in each successive year.'

In the eight years since its inception, GFMF has become the premier annual financial markets conference in the MENA region, attracting more than 1500 delegates from around the globe. Distinguished speakers in the past have included Dr. Ben Bernanke, Colin Powell, Dr. Larry Summers, James Baker, Nicholas Sarkozy, David Miliband, Jean-Claude Trichet, Niall Ferguson and Paul Volcker, among others.

The eighth annual GFMF is supported by the Central Bank of the UAE, Abu Dhabi Department of Finance and Abu Dhabi Council for Economic Development. Several prominent global and UAE-based companies joined GFMF 2016 as partners including Etihad Airways, the Official Airline partner; Abu Dhabi Aviation, the Aviation Partner; Abu Dhabi Global Market, the Global Financial Centre Partner; Thomson Reuters, the Strategic Knowledge partner; in addition to Aldar Properties, Strata and Goldman Sachs.

CNBC is the official International Broadcast Partner and will be broadcasting live from the Forum; Wealth Monitor is the Official Magazine and Oxford Business Group is the Research Partner.

Other sponsors includes Barwa Bank and Crédit Agricole Group, ADX, BNP Paribas, Battersea Power Station, Etihad Rail, Murex, Natixis, S&P Capital IQ, Barclays, BMO Financial Group, BT Global Services, CitiGroup Global, Ferrero, Numerix, EBS BrokerTec, IG, Royal Jet, Boeing, Cagamas and ICAP.

To follow GFMF 2016 online, please follow the below accounts:

National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC issued this content on 23 February 2016 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 23 February 2016 11:04:15 UTC

Original Document: https://www.nbad.com/en-ae/about-nbad/overview/newsroom/2016/23-02-2016.html