Dubai International Chamber inaugurates 3 new offices

Dubai International Chamber, one of the three chambers operating under Dubai Chambers, on Monday announced the opening of three new international representative offices in Egypt, Israel and Turkey.

In a statement, the chamber said new offices will be based in Cairo, Tel Aviv and Istanbul, respectively.

The Cairo office was officially inaugurated on Monday at a special ceremony in the presence of Mariam Khalifa Al Kaabi, UAE Ambassador to Egypt; Omar Khan, executive director, International Offices at Dubai International Chamber; and a number of high-profile Emirati and Egyptian business leaders.

The formal inauguration of the representative office in Tel Aviv will take place in the Israeli capital on Tuesday (December 13) while the Istanbul office will follow on Wednesday (December 14).

The new openings support Dubai Chambers’ strategic goals to attract international business and investment to Dubai and to drive global expansion of its members. They are in line with the ‘Dubai Global’ initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council to establish 50 representative offices for Dubai in five continents by 2030.

Dubai Global aims to attract foreign MNCs, SMEs, investors, and international talent to Dubai by showcasing the emirate’s competitive advantages, sharing investment intelligence, and engaging with overseas stakeholders. Supported by strategic public and private sector partners, Dubai Global accelerates efforts to boost Dubai’s non-oil foreign trade from Dh1.4 trillion to Dh2 trillion by 2026, as part of the emirate’s five-year foreign trade plan.

“We are delighted to announce the addition of three new bases in Egypt, Israel and Turkey to our global network of international representation offices. Dubai Chambers continues to lead the Dubai business community’s efforts to strengthen avenues of trade and economic cooperation between the UAE and regional markets, and our new offices in Egypt, Israel and Turkey will help expand Dubai companies’ access to the growing markets while attracting inward investment from these countries into Dubai,” Hassan Al Hashemi, vice-president International Relations, Dubai Chambers, said.

The new openings bring the number of Dubai International Chamber’s representative offices around the world to 15. The chamber already has representative offices across Africa, Latin America, Eurasia, India, and China.

International offices have a dual mission of supporting and guiding Dubai companies through every stage of their international expansion journey, from market intelligence and business introductions to company set-up, and create new mechanisms to attract FDI from key markets of strategic importance to Dubai, promoting the emirate as a preferred business hub and gateway to access emerging markets.

“Through global network development, business engagement events and facilitation of public-private sector partnerships, we provide our member companies with unparalleled opportunities to navigate the diverse investment opportunities in the region. The economic potential in Egypt, Israel and Turkey is impressive and we’ll continue to drive bilateral trade between the UAE and the three countries to boost collaboration in new and existing commercial sectors as well as unlock the endless opportunities of Dubai’s highly diverse business environment for Egyptian, Israeli, and Turkish businesses,” Al Hashemi added.

Egypt

With trade between UAE and Egypt reaching $7.5 billion in 2021, Dubai International Chamber’s new office in Cairo will strengthen the commercial relationship between the two countries, boosting investment ties in key sectors including trade manufacturing, agribusiness, IT and maritime

The Cairo office will offer Dubai businesses market intelligence, route-to-market strategies, and operational set-up expertise, maximising business opportunities in Egypt. Similarly, Egyptian MNCs and SMEs will stand to gain market and operational expertise as well as access to trustworthy partners in Dubai.

Egypt was Dubai's second trading partner on the African continent in 2021 and last year ranked 20th globally on the list of Dubai's trading partners. The number of Egyptian companies registered as members of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and operating in the emirate amounts to more than 14,700 companies, which represents a growth of 103 per cent compared to 2016 numbers, which reflects Dubai's importance and reputation for Egyptian businessmen and entrepreneurs. In addition, Egypt is one of the largest startup hubs on the African continent, and accounts for 14% of all startups in Africa, according to an OECD report.

Israel

— muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com