Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has been named as the Official International Airline of the sixth SME Conference 2012 to be held in Karachi.

The conference, which is organised annually by Shamrock Conferences International, provides a forum to discuss issues faced by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country and relevant policy interventions to address common challenges.

Subjects to be covered include regulatory inconsistencies, banking services, taxation, transportation of goods, as well as a range of power and energy issues.

Etihad Airways’ Area General Manager for Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, Amer Khan, said: “We are pleased to be associated with Shamrock Conferences International to address pertinent issues related to the SME sector, which is the backbone of our economy and a key source of economic growth in advanced, industrial as well as emerging and developing markets.”

Menin Rodrigues, the Chairman of  Shamrock Conferences International, said: “I would like to express my gratitude to Etihad Airways for its commitment and support of the SME sector in Pakistan through this partnership with us. We hope this collaboration will continue to flourish in the future.”