Dubai Italy look to strengthen ties

Date

2/5/2016 10:08:08 AM

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

Business communities from the Lombardy region of Italy will be ensured all the help that they need to develop and grow their businesses in Dubai and the region Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman Majid Saif Al Ghurair said on Thursday.

Speaking at the "Lombardy & Dubai Economic Cooperation: Investment & Business Opportunities" forum the chairman stressed on Dubai and Italy's common desire to promote economic and trade cooperation between their respective business communities.

He also noted that the non-oil trade between Dubai and Italy in 2014 reached Dh24.2 billion up from Dh21.5 billion in 2013. It touched Dh11 billion in the first half of 2015.

Organised in association with the embassy of Italy and promos of the Milan Chamber the forum hosted a high-level delegation headed by Fabrizio Sala vice-president of the Lombardy region and Liborio Stellino the Italian Ambassador to the UAE.

"Last year was particularly a busy one for the business communities of Dubai and Italy as we took our largest-ever trade mission to Milan Expo 2015 participated in the World Retail Congress in Rome as well as the 73rd Worldwide Motorcycle Exhibition at the invitation of the Milan Chamber" said Al Ghurair.

The chairman called upon Italian companies from the Lombardy region to come to Dubai and look for new investment opportunities and promote bilateral trade ties between the two sides. He said that Dubai is an ideal business destination for Italian companies to benefit from the emirate's attractive investment environment supported by its modern infrastructure and strategic location offering access to the larger GCC Africa and Asian regions with access to approximately two billion people.

Fabrizio Sala revealed that Dubai and Italy's relations were strongly cemented last year with the hosting of Expo Milano 2015 when Milan received more than the expected number of visitors. "The Lombardy region has the highest number of start-ups and we want these SMEs to internationalise and explore foreign markets. Dubai is a well connected hub; we want our start-ups to make their mark on foreign shores and to use the emirate to reach out to the Middle East African and European markets via Dubai which is the link between the East and the West" he said.

"We will also ask our SMEs to use the services of the Dubai Chamber to show their competitiveness on a global level as the chamber is helping out foreign investors to explore promising overseas markets."

Speaking to the media after the event Sala said that there are several sectors where both Italy and Dubai can connect on and explore business opportunities. He pointed in particular to the fashion furniture healthcare areospace chemicals high-precision mechanical engineering and IT sectors.

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.