UAE
Doing Business
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Business Meetings
The meeting style depends upon the nationality of the participants. If meeting with Western expatriates, expect traditional Western business practices. If meeting with Arabs, the meeting will begin and end with a fair amount of small talk.
Many younger Arabs who have worked in the international arena may be willing to condense the amount of ritualized communication and quickly get to the matter at hand.
Agendas, agreed to in advance, are the norm at meetings with foreign visitors. They may be seen as loose guidelines.
If someone would prefer not to discuss an issue, they will ignore it and move on to a different topic.
Interruptions may be frequent and may make the meeting appear quite relaxed.
If others are in the room when you arrive, greet each of them individually and wait until the person you have come to see addresses his words to you. If others arrive when you are in the room, stand to greet them as this demonstrates respect.
It is common to have several meetings, often explaining the same material, so that a broad cross-section of staff has the opportunity to form an impression about you as a person and hence the company you represent.
Problems require privacy and are not discussed in a meeting with many people. Such issues may be raised in an after-hours one-on-one meeting. Even then, bad news may be given by an intermediary rather than the key person from the UAE company.
Meetings do not generally have an ending time. The meeting ends when the business discussion is completed or when the most senior person from the UAE company decides it is over.
