Dubai – MENA Herald: Based on the success of its outbound trade mission to the Netherlands in March this year hosting the Rotterdam-Dubai Business Forum, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry received the incoming Dutch trade mission to the Dubai-Rotterdam Business Forum hosted at the Chamber premises on Thursday.
During the trade mission to The Netherlands, Dubai Chamber has signed a strategic partnership agreement with the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce and Rotterdam Partners to build a strong relationship of mutual cooperation between the two countries and continues its efforts to stimulate bilateral ties with Dutch businesses in the long run.
The Forum, held in partnership withthe Netherlands Chamber of Commerce, Rotterdam Partners and City of Rotterdam, was attended by H.E. Hisham Al Shirawi,2ndVice-Chairman, Dubai Chamber, H.E. Ahmed Aboutaleb, Mayor, City of Rotterdam, JaapDocter, Director, Business Services, Netherlands Chamber of Commerce, and representatives of the Netherlands and UAE companies.
In his welcome address, H.E. Al Shirawisaid: “The Netherlands is an important trade partner for us and we have been working to strengthen this relationship in recent years. Also, we see this repeat visit by the Rotterdam business delegation as yet another golden opportunity to strengthen our bilateral trade relations with Dutch businesses and to take them to a new level altogether.
“Rotterdam, in particular, has a lot in common with Dubai, as both cities are home to the largest ports in their respective regions and are proactive in diversifyingtheir economies while endeavouring to reach out to emerging markets of the world for trade and investment opportunities,” said H.E. Al Shirawi.
The 2nd Vice-Chairman of Dubai Chamber added, “Being major re-export hubs in their respective regions, the Netherlands with easy connectivity to main European cities and Dubai’s strategic position as a gateway for doing business with other GCC countries, Africa, and Asia, makes it an ideal trade partner for European markets such as the Netherlands and Rotterdam,” he said adding thatwith access to over 2 billion consumers, the emirate serves as a unique hub which Dutch companies can benefit from.
“The Dubai Plan 2021 emphasises onenhancing the sustainable development of the emirate as trade remains the largest contributor to Dubai’s GDP which could be built on to improve trade relations with Rotterdam,” said H.E. Al Shirawi while highlighting joint investment opportunities in the areas of trade, logistics, tourism, healthcare, and renewable energy.
He also informed that the Netherlands is Dubai’s 28thlargest trade partnerwiththe value of non-oil trade between the two sides totalling AED 11.08 billion in 2015 while currently there are 205 Dutch companies registered with Dubai Chamber.
On his part, H.E. Ahmed Aboutaleb, Mayor, City of Rotterdam, stated that this repeat visit of the Dutch delegation to Dubai this year will go a long way in investing in bilateral relationship and building up trust which is very important for the two countries to come closer culturally and economically.
“What brings us on a common platform is that both our countries are ambitious right from the leadership to the people and entrepreneurs who like to be in the lead and believe in being actors rather than mere spectators. Also, we two are gifted with excellent geographic locations and strong assets which help us play our leading roles more strongly,” said H.E. Aboutaleb.
He added that both Dubai as well as the city of Rotterdam are innovative, especially in the field of water, new energy, environmental technology and innovation and by sharing their expertise and experience can take their bilateral ties to a higher level in the long run.
In their presentations on Doing Business in the Netherlands, TMF Group, explained the framework of investing and operating in the country while in the Present UR Pitch presentation some of the leading Dutch start-ups pitched their investment ideas for the benefit of local Dubai businesses.
