On November 3-5, 2014 The UAE Ministry of Justice, the UAE Institute for Training and Judicial Studies and CLDP co-hosted a 3-day regional workshop in Dubai, UAE on Developing A Comprehensive Insolvency Regime in the Region. The region-wide program included judges, lawyers, practitioners, and small business association members from Yemen, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE. The goal was to spur insolvency reform by (1) encouraging judicial and university education; (2) raising awareness to macroeconomic benefits and the need to decriminalization; (3) outlining comprehensive regulatory drafting; (4) promoting access to credit for SMEs and entrepreneurs.

The regional program was led by experts from the World Bank, INSOL, private sector law firms and banks, local quasi-government entities, local university professors, in additional to a Sharia Finance Scholar and a US Bankruptcy Court Judge. The regional program is part of a broader multiphase program aimed at engaging the judiciary, private sector, government and civil society organizations in collectively encouraging insolvency reform that aligns with international best practices.