Investment opportunities in Mexico for UAE businesses

Mexico offers many opportunities for investors as well as businesses and the country is keen to enhance trade relations with the UAE, President Enrique Peña Nieto said in Dubai on Tuesday.
Nieto pointed out the investment opportunities for UAE companies in various sectors notably education, trade and industry, financial services and energy. Mexico has signed joint trade agreements with 11 countries and therefore the export to Mexico allows opportunities in about 46 different markets and access to 140 million consumers, he informed.
Speaking at the UAE-Mexico Business Forum organised by Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry in partnership with the Mexico Embassy in the UAE and ProMexico in Dubai, Nieto said the Mexican government was keen to build on the long-time ties enjoyed by the two countries. He termed the forum as a first step for long-term partnership between the two countries.
The Mexican president said his country is open to cooperation with the world, and geographic distances can be overcome because the world is interconnected, expressing his country's desire to open itself to the UAE, especially that the UAE is developed country and has a clear vision and strategy for the future.
Shedding light on the manufacturing sector in his country, he informed that 85 per cent of the country's exports are industrial products while the situation was different 30 years ago when oil accounted for more than 80 per cent of Mexico's exports, noting that his country is one of the largest exporters of flat screen TVs, and the seventh largest producer of vehicles, while the aircraft industry recorded growth year after year.
In his welcome address, Dubai Chamber chairman Majid Al Ghurair said: "Our relation with Mexico is symbolic of the Chamber's strategy of reaching out to the promising markets of the world and the importance of the country as part of Latin America region."
Dubai Chamber second vice-chairman Hisham Al Shirawi said: "For Dubai, trade is the cornerstone of our economy. Aligning the needs of Dubai and Mexico through increased cooperation, will positively impact two-way trade and investment. Currently, we have 21 Mexican companies as members of Dubai Chamber and we hope to build on this number in the coming years."
In his presentation on Dubai economy, Dubai Chamber president and chief executive officer Hamad Buamim said that the Dubai 2021 Plan constitutes a starting point for efforts that will strengthen the process of sustainable development in the emirate, saying that trade is the largest contributor to the GDP of Dubai, a sector which could be built on to improve trade relations with Mexico.
He added that the tourism sector is progressing towards achieving its goal of attracting 20 million tourists by 2020, pointing out that Dubai has attracted 11.7 million tourists during January-October 2015 with a growth of 8.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2014, with a presence of more than 96,000 and hotel rooms and apartments.
The president said that Dubai which is at the centre of East and West, the emirate's airports registered 71 million passengers until last November, and about 2.29 million tons of air cargo, and the launch of a direct flight between Dubai and Mexico will play a major role in promoting bilateral economic relations between the two countries.
Buamim said that Dubai Chamber will be exploring new markets for the business community in the coming months, after Africa, as the focus now is on Central Asia and Latin America which are target markets for the Chamber, therefore the Mexican market is of interest to the business community in Dubai and this Business Forum is a step forward in that direction, he said. - abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com