The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) has hosted the first meeting of the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) UAE Regional Forum at the Bank Head Office in Khalifa Street.

The meeting brought together professionals from different organisations and experts in the field of business continuity management to discuss and analyse challenges and share the best practices of business continuity management. The meeting offered a session titled “Horizon Planning” which was presented by Richard Taylor.

Abhijit Choudhury, Senior Managing Director & Group Chief Risk Officer of NBAD and other members of the senior management team from the Bank included Khalaf Al Dhaheri, Senior Managing Director & Group Chief Operating Officer and Rohit Kumar, SVP & Head- Group Independent Risk Management.

“The intention of the BCI UAE Regional Forum is to share knowledge and experiences and to facilitate the development of and better Business Continuity Management in the UAE and other Gulf Countries,” said Dhiraj Lal, Chairman of the BCI UAE Regional Forum. “It offers the opportunity for all interested professionals to network with and to learn from others about successful business continuity implementation in the Middle East.”
He added: “The forum is relevant not only to business continuity professionals, but also to those across related professions such as Crisis Management, Emergency Response, Safety, Security and IT Disaster Recovery.” In 2012, the UAE government launched a business continuity management standard to ensure organisations across the country continue operating throughout any emergency.

“Business Continuity is now widely recognised within the UAE as a critical domain that the all organisations need to implement. Our support to BCI UAE Forum confirms NBAD’s support to UAE national resilience,” said Dr. Lamees Abdul Majeed Al Qaisi, Group Head of Business Continuity Management at NBAD. She added: “Implementation of effective business continuity management helps organisations to protect their reputation, employees and other resources as well as save costs and ultimately enhancing profits and market share.”

In 2013, NBAD upgraded its Business Continuity Centre which is equipped to allow the Bank to continue its operations and support clients in case of emergencies. This facility serves as the focal center of the Bank’s other business continuity facilities across the country, allowing the Bank’s employees to continue their functions in the event of a disruption.

The next meeting of the BCI UAE Regional Forum will be held in Dubai on 18 March 2014. “Attendance to the meetings of the UAE BCI Forum is open to all those who are interested and can be accessed by registering at the Linkedin site of the Business Continuity Institute UAE Forum,” said Lal.