Ahead of the 24th biennial Conference to mark its 50th Anniversary, we look at FAIR’s long hard climb, and the road ahead to regional cooperation.
FAIR’s biennial Conference returns to Cairo this year, coinciding with its 50th anniversary celebrations, with the theme of “Building on 50 years of Regional Cooperation”.
But while FAIR was born in 1964, its seeds were sown much earlier, when the heads of 29 African and Asian states came together in April 1955, in Bandung, Indonesia. There, President Sukarno of Indonesia, Premier Zhou Enlai of China, Premier Jawaharlal Nehru of India and President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt approved and announced the Bandung Declaration.
The Declaration was translated into action plans. Under the title of economic cooperation, the Afro-Asian Economic Organization was established, holding a series of meetings between 1958 and 1963. It was then decided that it should focus on sectors to enhance efficacy and score better achievements. With the insurance sector taking priority, the call was made, in collaboration with the Egyptian Insurance Federation, to establish FAIR. A Founders’ Meeting was held in Cairo in September 1964 and attended by representatives from 20 Afro-Asian Countries.
Changing with the times
Since its establishment, FAIR has evolved with the times to meet the needs of its members. It has succeeded in setting up four pools and four forums and societies (see box). All are devoted to FAIR’s ultimate goal of regional cooperation and the development of insurance industry in Afro-Asian countries.
But cooperation is a work in progress. There is definitely room for more pools, and FAIR is looking at creating a pool for political violence and terrorism risks, given their growing significance. There is also a case for microinsurance and agriculture insurance pools, in view of their importance to Afro-Asian countries.
Additionally, there are plans to expand membership in the FAIR Brokers and Consultants Society, and these will be discussed at the coming General Meeting in Cairo, according to Dr Adel Mounir, FAIR Secretary General.
Untapped potential
Such plans take time to bear fruit, and the work has to continue or, in some cases, must start now.
Mustering support and capacity from FAIR’s diverse members can mean several years for new initiatives like pools to be born. During FAIR’s 50 years of existence, only four pools have been set up despite the opportunities available, with an interval of around 10 years in between. With the last pool – the Nat CAT Pool – being approved in 2007 and starting to operate only in the last two years, it is unlikely for any new pool to be formed in the short or medium term.
Dr Mounir believes there have been many missed opportunities as there are 103 countries in Africa and Asia, encompassing 2,750 insurance providers. Yet, FAIR’s membership comprises just 250 members from 53 countries. “FAIR is the only bridge connecting the two continents’ insurance industries, but the current membership does not reflect this fact,” he told Middle East Insurance Review in an interview.
FAIR has certainly done much to boost partnership between two key regions of the world, as well as implement appropriate risk-transfer and risk-sharing mechanisms, but the road ahead is long. The next 50 years will require greater agility and adaptability on the Federation’s part, to use all means necessary to raise its profile and trumpet the cause of cooperation.