‘Dubai Global’ set to expand its reach in new markets

The UAE bilateral trade with Turkiye, Egypt and Israel is expected to gain further momentum in coming years following the opening of the new representative offices by Dubai International Chamber last week, experts say.

Analysts, diplomats and economic experts said the synergy between the UAE and Egypt, Israel, and Turkiye is compelling and the opening of the new representative offices will only stand to further strengthen economic ties and increase the flow of bilateral trade.

The emirate recorded more than Dh82.28 billion trade with the three nations last year and it is expecting that trade with these nations will hit Dh100 billion mark in coming years following exchange of delegations and opening up of new economic sectors in the wake of the comprehensive economic partnership agreements with key trading partners including Israel and Turkiye.

Dubai Global initiative

The launch of the new offices in Cairo, Tel Aviv, and Istanbul, respectively, expands the chamber’s global network to 15 representation offices around the world. It is in line with the the ‘Dubai Global’ initiative launched by 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.

The chamber’s initiative will also support 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. The chamber already has representative offices across Africa, Latin America, Eurasia, India, and China.

“I am pleased to say that the three office openings have been a tremendous success. We will hit the ground running, engaging businesses as well as public and private sector stakeholders within these markets to enhance economic cooperation, increase trade and drive investment activities,” Hassan Al Hashemi, vice-president of International Relations at Dubai Chambers.

Dubai International Chamber, one of the three chambers operating under Dubai Chambers, has inaugurated new international offices in Egypt, Israel and Türkiye, last week to maximise business opportunities in priority markets globally.

“We look forward to co-organising networking events and seminars for businesses as well as carry out business matching with partners in these respective countries,” Al Hashemi said.

Reaching right partners

Atik Munshi, managing partner, FinExpertiza UAE, said one of the primary role of the Chamber of Commerce is to promote and facilitate the businesses. Dubai Chamber has always been very proactive in this regards.

“Turkiye and Egypt are significant trade partners for Dubai and UAE and Israel has new accords with UAE. With offices in these 3 countries, Dubai Chamber ensures that Dubai is projected as a right partner for business and necessary information and documents can be made easily available to potential business partners in these countries. This would obviously help Cepa as well. This is one more step to attract FDI to Dubai and UAE,” Munshi told Khaleej Times on Sunday.

Saad Maniar, senior partner at Crowe, welcomed the chamber’s initiative and said it will help diversify the economy and boost bilateral trade with key trading partners.

“It is a great effort towards diversification of revenue stream and strengthening of the bond with strategic countries and it should contribute towards stability and security of the region,” Maniar told Khaleej Times on Sunday.

Furthermore, such initiative broadens the horizons for the business community for the expansion of their business, he said.

“Now that the base is set and infrastructure is ready, the focus should be on increasing the size of the population to enable the growth. Such are the initiative of the forward-looking nation, and we are proud to be part of this progressive country,” he said.

UAE-Egypt trade

The UAE has maintained a positive trade balance with Egypt, with total non-oil trade reaching Dh27.52 billion ($7.5 billion) in 2021. Egypt’s ranking on Dubai’s trading partners list jumped from 25th in 2011 to 20th in 2021, while coming second on Dubai’s list of top trading partners in Africa in 2021.

Mariam Khalifa Al Kaabi, UAE Ambassador to Egypt, said the UAE believes that the future of regional security depends on strong multilateral partnerships and a shared commitment to achieving stability and prosperity through peaceful political and economic means.

“The comprehensive economic partnership agreements will continue to pave the way for more opportunities for the people of the region and open the door to the vital economic development of the Middle East, accelerating and enhancing countries' trade and increasing the ease of doing business across the region, and in other markets such as Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America,” Al Kaabi said.

— muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com