Dubai Chamber eyes stronger African ties

Hassen Al Hashemi at a roundtable discussion in Addis Ababa. — Supplied photo

Dubai Chamber is keen to develop stronger economic ties with African countries and offers many investment opportunities in key sectors of the economy.

To accelerate the process to promote economic and investment relations with African states, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s International Representative Office in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa organised a roundtable discussion recently.

Dr Yousef Al Sabri, UAE Ambassador to Ethiopia; Hassen Al Hashemi, vice-president International Relations, Dubai Chamber; Amb. Tekleab K. Aregawi, head of Dubai Chamber representative office in Addis Ababa, and representatives of 24 African block countries attended the roundtable, which discussed ways to strengthen cooperation ties with the region. It also briefed the delegates on recent Dubai Chamber initiatives, especially the Africa Global Business Forum 2014 to be held in Dubai next year.

In his welcome address, Al Hashemi highlighted the robust economic development of Dubai and the investment opportunities the emirate offered to African countries. He also presented latest economic indicators of Dubai in light of the strong trade relations enjoyed by the trading communities of Dubai and Africa.

He further stressed that the non-oil trade between Dubai and Africa increased by more than 700 per cent to the value of $25 billion during the last decade, adding that Dubai Chamber was constantly working to organise major global events for the expansion of trade in the promising markets of the African block.

Al Hashemi also discussed the recent achievement of Dubai in winning the bid to host Expo 2020 and the benefits the global event will bring to the region and Africa in particular as he thanked the African countries for supporting Dubai and the UAE’s efforts to win the honour. He also pointed out how Dubai as a leading economic hub attracts global investors due to its business-friendly laws, world-class infrastructural and financial services and a high return business environment as well as the emirate’s strategic location of a gateway for global businesses to connect to African countries while allowing African traders to do business with the rest of the world.

Al Hashemi called upon African companies to set up base in Dubai and to benefit from the lucrative investment opportunities presented by the emirate’s vibrant economic sectors including trade, tourism logistics, and financial services.

He added that the Chamber’s representative office in Addis Ababa is available to provide all the information needed for investing in Dubai.

— muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com