Dr. Ismail Selim spoke at the 16^th edition of the MIFE Middle East and North Africa International Franchise & License Exhibition held during the period from 17 to 19 November 2018 in Cairo. The Exhibition was organized by the Egyptian Franchise Development Association (EFDA), in conjunction with the Cairo International Franchise Conformance, the Franchise Matchmaking Forum, the World Franchise Council (WFC) meeting, the ASIA PACIFIC FRANCHISE CONFEDERATION (APFC) meeting, and the Ibero-American Franchising Federation (FIAF).

The event was attended by representatives of 46 countries and aimed at offering a broad range of licensing & franchising opportunities both nationally and internationally and seeking new local and regional franchisees & licensees.

Dr. Selim was the only external speaker at the WFC Meeting held on 19 November 2018. His speech was titled “The settlement of international disputes through mediation and arbitration,” and it focused on CRCICA’s background, caseload, recent recognitions and activities, as well as the franchise arbitration cases administrated by CRCICA.

The speech was followed by lively discussions related to the enforcement of CRCICA’s arbitral awards, enforcement of arbitral foreign awards in Egypt under the New York Convention. Discussions also approached CRCICA’s Arbitration costs according to the findings of the 2017 GAR published survey on “Arbitration costs compared” comparing the costs of 18 major arbitral institutions from all over the world where CRCICA was the only representative of Africa and one of only two arbitration centres representing the MENA Region. According to the survey, CRCICA costs are the most affordable in case of one arbitrator and among the three most affordable in case of three arbitrators until the dispute amount of US$ 1 million. This important finding renders CRCICA among the most suitable arbitration institutions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

It is worth noting that less than two months following that event, EFDA and CRCICA in cooperation with the Institute of Certified Franchise Executives (CFE) and the International Franchise Association (IFA) jointly organized, “Cairo Legal Franchise Workshop and Symposium“ on 12-13 January 2019, at CRCICA’s auditorium.