FIABCI, the International Real Estate Federation, will send a delegation to the 4th International MLS Forum, taking place November 16-17, 2026, at Raffles Istanbul in Istanbul, Türkiye. The delegation will be led by Narek Arakelyan, Secretary-General of FIABCI, and will include World President Lily Chang. The Forum will highlight FIABCI’s work with the Global Data Exchange (GDX), a platform aimed at connecting real estate data and professional networks internationally.
Arakelyan said the goal is “to demonstrate the real support from FIABCI to this initiative.” He emphasized that the federation’s involvement goes beyond visibility or virtual endorsements. “It’s not just having a logo, having visibility or some virtual endorsements, but really to show how FIABCI is committed to this platform,” he said.
FIABCI, founded in 1951, brings together more than 40 professions across real estate and the built environment, with a presence in more than 80 countries. Its members include architects, developers, investors, brokers, realtors, lawyers, valuers, and operators. “They’re part of the same economic value chain,” Arakelyan said.
The relationship between FIABCI and GDX was formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding signed at the FIABCI World Congress in Vienna. That agreement set the stage for continued dialogue toward a final scope of partnership that would allow FIABCI “not only to endorse the GDX initiative but also fully support its implementation.”
Arakelyan outlined three areas where FIABCI plans to work with GDX. First, encouraging FIABCI associations to join the GDX network. Second, helping associations and practitioners that lack their own MLS through technology and other support so their data can be consolidated on one platform connected to GDX. Third, creating a global platform where developers can market their projects, including off-plan properties, also expected to connect to GDX. “It creates business for many professions, it creates business for existing associations, it creates business for our principal members and developers,” he said.
The initiative is now part of FIABCI’s strategic plan, Vision 2035. “Of course, we are not waiting until 2035 to implement it,” Arakelyan said. “The most important thing for us within the next three years is to implement the three platforms technically and to create a positive dynamic, a snowball effect, inside our community.”
GDX is built on RESO data standards, which Arakelyan sees as a way to create a more consistent language for real estate data. “If professionals are expected to cooperate internationally, the systems they use need to be able to communicate with each other,” he said. “From FIABCI’s perspective, the value of standards is particularly important when they can support different markets without ignoring local legal, regulatory and commercial specificities.”
In GDX, each partner decides with whom it shares its data. “FIABCI has no role in imposing anything on anyone,” Arakelyan said. “We are just providing solutions that could help our associations, companies holding MLSs, or real estate portals to do more business and to create more value for their clients and members.” He added, “It was fundamental for us to show our industry that we are not deciding on your behalf. We are creating a platform where you decide what is best for your own organization.”
The Forum will also mark the start of a FIABCI task force recently created by its board of directors to understand what real estate practitioners expect from the federation. “This is a focal point for us,” Arakelyan said. Chang will represent FIABCI on a Forum panel and at the signing ceremony that brings several FIABCI association chapters together with GDX. “FIABCI is proud to support the Forum as an Industry Partner for the third consecutive year,” Chang said. “We value this opportunity to meet colleagues, exchange experience and explore how we can make international real estate cooperation work better in practice.”
For real estate leaders deciding whether to attend, Arakelyan’s case is direct. “This is the place to be, because this is where their peers are going to decide what is best for the next couple of years,” he said. “Being there means being actively involved in that decision-making process.” Tickets are available at mlsforum.org.
