UAE- DEC, China lender in strategic cooperation 

(MENAFN - Khaleej Times) A delegation from the Dubai Economic Council, or DEC, has recently visited the premises of China Development Bank, or CDB, in Beijing.

Led by DEC secretary-general Hani Al Hamli, the group met with CDB's Jiang Zhigang, director of its International Cooperation Committee and director-general of its Planning Department; and Zhang Jinting, deputy director-general and senior accountant at its Corporate Client Department.

Al Hamli highlighted the latest developments in the economy of Dubai and the UAE, the bilateral relations between the two countries and the DEC's keenness to strengthen these relations.

He said that the prospective strategic collaboration between the DEC and CDB is not confined to exchanging experiences, sharing knowledge and data, and expand the circle of debate and research on various economic issues, but it also seeks to have a significant role of CDB in providing financial services in Dubai.

"Such a partnership would maintain the strong bilateral relations that the UAE has with its Chinese counterparts and its continued efforts in strengthening trade and economic ties," Al Hamli said.

Al Hamli said that given the great significance of CDB in China and in many countries worldwide, "we are confident that it would also be an active and critical financial institution in Dubai". In this context, Al Hamli expressed the DEC's keenness to have a representative branch of CDB in Dubai in order to provide relevant finance to both public and private entities in the way that boosts the economic growth of the emirate.

"CDB can provide financial and advisory services to the strategic and mega development projects embraced by the government of Dubai, and in the same time it could provide an access to finance for private companies including the SMEs hence to bridge any potential bottlenecks in this domain," Al Hamli added.