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Dubai /Â WAM
The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), today opened an office in Nairobi, Kenya, looking to strengthen economic ties with the continent and to promote Dubai and its business competitiveness in the African market.
The new office, being the fourth in Africa after Ethiopia, Ghana, and Mozambique, is the sixth Dubai Chamber international office after Azerbaijan and Erbil in Iraq, which demonstrates the chamber’s commitment to reach out to the promising markets of the world, especially Africa, while attracting foreign direct investment to Dubai.
Majid Saif Al Ghurair, Chairman, Dubai Chamber, while leading a trade mission to Kenya and Ethiopia, inaugurated the new office in the presence of the Dubai delegation consisting of senior representatives of the private sector and investors from the UAE. The opening ceremony was followed by a public sector round-table discussion between chamber officials from the two countries and a corporate site visit.
In his inaugural address, Al Ghurair stated that Dubai has historically maintained strong trading ties with Africa, and the continent has served as a key market to expand the emirate’s business activities in recent years under the directives of Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to explore the fast-growing economies of the African continent which has become one of the most popular trade and investment destinations in the world.
The new office will allow Dubai’s businesses to pursue opportunities in Kenya while serving as a platform for Kenyan businesses to enter Dubai and the wider Middle East region, he added.
The chamber was delighted to be opening its newest location which supports its strategy set up in 2010 to spearhead many initiatives to solidify trade relations between Dubai and African businesses and to encourage investment between the two regions, stated Hamad Buamim, President and CEO, Dubai Chamber.
“Kenya is the emirate’s 49th largest trading partner with bilateral trade rising over the last few years to reach US$1.1 billion in 2015. At present, the Dubai Chamber has 211 Kenyan businesses among its members, and we would like to see that number grow with the support of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce,” he said.
He lauded the support provided by Abdul Razzak Mohammed Hadi, UAE Ambassador to Kenya, in facilitating the trade mission’s objectives while also helping UAE investors to overcome the obstacles in their trading activities.