DCCI hosts Paraguayan, Costa Rican presidents to boost trade relations

Dubai / WAM

Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) hosted two high-level delegations at its headquarters on Tuesday, which were headed by Horacio Cartes, President of Paraguay, and Luis Guillermo Solis Rivera, President of Costa Rica.
The delegations were received by Majid Al Shamsi, First Vice Chairman, and Hamad Buamim, President and CEO of Dubai Chamber. Several board members and other government officials were also present. The meetings primarily focussed on strengthening economic cooperation and expanding the countries’ trade and cultural ties with Dubai and the UAE.
Addressing the delegations, Al Shamsi said that Latin America is a region of strategic importance for Dubai and a priority market under the chamber’s expansion strategy. He further stressed the importance of hosting the delegations as the meetings provided the right platform to build on the progress achieved by the inaugural Global Business Forum on Latin America, which the chamber hosted in Dubai last year.
Al Shamsi also noted that both Paraguay and Costa Rica can play a vital role by co-operating with Dubai on food security, adding that there is huge potential for both sides to collaborate in other sectors such as infrastructure, tourism, transport, logistics, real estate and water.
Buamim said the Dubai Chamber of Commerce is reviewing the possibility of sending a delegation to Paraguay and Costa Rica during the first half of 2017 in an effort to explore new trade and investment opportunities in both markets. He also informed the delegations that the chamber will be opening its first Latin American office in Sao Paulo during the first half of this year.
President Cartes called on the Dubai Chamber of Commerce to organise a trade mission to Paraguay in an effort to learn about the country’s business environment and explore new business opportunities.
Gustavo Leite, Paraguay’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, said that the country has set ambitious goals to become a regional hub for agriculture, manufacturing and logistics, adding that there is plenty of scope for increased co-operation in these sectors.
During the meeting with the Costa Rican delegation, Al Shamsi highlighted the UAE’s strong relations with the country, and said that it imports more than two-thirds of its aluminium from Dubai. He lauded Costa Rica’s successful efforts to diversify its economy beyond tourism and agriculture by developing its manufacturing and IT industries.
President Rivera emphasised Costa Rica’s commitment to enhancing its trade relations with the UAE and facilitate new partnerships, adding that the new agreement eliminating the need for UAE and Costa Rican citizens to obtain pre-entry visas would further strengthen bilateral relations in the future.