Dubai - MENA Herald: As part of its efforts to explore new business opportunities for its members and to promote Dubai’s competitive business environment in the overseas markets, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry participated in the first Silk Road International Investment Forum 2015 in Hong Kong recently. With its objective of enhancing dialogue among civilisations as part of developing the economic, trade and cultural revival of the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Economic Road for the benefit of its member states and countries along the Silk Road, the forum was attended by a large number of global business leaders and decision-makers. It also saw the launch of the Silk Road Chamber of International Commerce (SRCIC) which is a non-profit and non-political international commercial organisation, whose fundamental objective is to enhance the participation of global businesses in the trade and investment opportunities provided by the new land, maritime and digital Silk Roads. Participating in a panel discussion on Belt and Road with Chambers of Commerce, Hassan Al Hashemi, Vice-President, International Relations, Dubai Chamber, stated that the Chamber’s participation in this strategic forum served as a key platform for promoting Dubai’s trade ties with Hong Kong as well as supporting the Silk Road initiative jointly and its investment potential offered to global chambers. Al Hashemi further stated that the forum provided an ideal platform to promote the emirate’s lucrative business environment and its strategic location as a gateway to the regional as well as Central African and European markets for China while serving as a major stop over point for the Silk Road and its adjacent regions. He also added that the Belt and Road initiative opens up a gate of opportunities for Dubai Chamber members to build up new contacts and seek joint cooperation ties with members of this historic international cooperation corridor which covers Russia and Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, Africa and the Arab countries. The Silk Road initiative saw the establishment of the Silk Road Fund worth USD 40 billion at the end of last year with the participation of major Chinese shareholders including China's Foreign Exchange Reserves, China State Development Bank, China Export and Import Bank and China Investment Corporation. The forum reviewed China’s economic relations with Arab countries as Chinese investments in the region in the decade 2004-2014 rose from USD 20 billion to USD 160 billion, in the areas of nuclear energy, space satellite, new energy, free trade agreements, and financial cooperation. China’s investment in the UAE is worth USD 2.33 billion with 200,000 Chinese living here and 4,000 Chinese companies operating in the country.
