Dubai Chamber readies to explore investment opportunities in Azerbaijan market

The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry organised a pre-mission briefing session for over 20 business leaders from various economic sectors participating in the Dubai Chamber Trade Mission to Azerbaijan starting on November 13 and concluding on November 16 in Baku.

The pre-mission briefing session was attended by H.E. Abdul Rahman Saif Al Ghurair, Chairman, H.E. Hamad Buamim, Director General, Dubai Chamber, and H.E. Elkhan Gahramanov, Azerbaijan Ambassador to the UAE.

In his welcome address, Buamim informed that Dubai Chamber identified Azerbaijan as an important market for its members as part of its new strategy to explore promising markets of the world while enhancing the competitiveness of Dubai businesses abroad.

Buamim stated that the purpose of the pre-mission briefing session was to give the participants an overview of the trade mission, outline its aims and objectives, identify priorities and to highlight the areas of opportunities for joint cooperation with Azerbaijan companies during the trade mission.

The Director General of Dubai Chamber added that the visit is also scheduled to have meetings with top Government officials and representatives of the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AzPromo), Azerbaijan-UAE Business Forum and major Azerbaijani companies, and called upon the delegates to further their business interests during the visit as well as promote Dubai as a popular FDI destination.

Buamim highlighted major areas of investment in Azerbaijan for Dubai businesses which he said included agriculture and food processing, transport and logistics, financial services, communication, construction and infrastructure and tourism and hospitality.

He also said that Dubai’s non-oil trade with Azerbaijan over the past year amounted to AED 1.62 billion dirhams in comparison to AED 844 million dirhams in 2010, while there are 218 Azerbaijani companies operating in Dubai as the country ranked 70^th on the list of Dubai’s top trading partners.

On his part, H.E. Elkhan Gahramanov, Azerbaijan Ambassador to the UAE, stated that the total trade between the UAE and Azerbaijan during the first nine months of this year exceeded USD 300 million registering a growth of 24% in comparison to the same period last year.

He said the main goods and services exchanged between the two countries included raw materials, information technology and agricultural products, and items for light industry.

H.E. Gahramanov further stressed on the successful investment cooperation between the two countries as he informed that from the year 2002 to 2012, UAE companies have invested over USD 200 million in Azerbaijan while his country’s affiliate company of SOCAR has invested in oil storage and textile projects in Fujairah amounting to USD 60 million.

The Dubai Chamber Trade Mission to Azerbaijan is led by H.E. Abdul Rahman Saif Al Ghurair, Chairman, Dubai Chamber, and has H.E. Mohammed Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz Al Shehhi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy, H.E. Hamad Buamim, Director General, Dubai Chamber, and over 20 Dubai-based businessmen in the delegation.

The highlights of the visit include the UAE-Azerbaijan Business Forum on November 14, which will have speeches by H.E. Niyazi Safarov, Azerbaijan Deputy Minister of Economic Development, H.E. Mohammed Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz Al Shehhi, Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Economy, H.E. Elkhan Gahramanov, Azerbaijan Ambassador to the UAE, and H.E. Abdul Rahman Saif Al Ghurair, Chairman, Dubai Chamber.

The trade mission has presentations by H.E. Hamad Buamim, Director General, Dubai Chamber, on UAE-Azerbaijan: Synergies & Economic Partnerships, and Azerbaijan Country Overview by Mr. Rufat Mammadov, Acting President, AzPromo.

Also there are one-to-one business meetings scheduled between Dubai Chamber delegation and Azerbaijani businessmen.

This fourth trade mission of the year to Azerbaijan follows the earlier trade missions taken out by the Chamber including the first one to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the second to the diamond hub of Surat in India and the last trade mission to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.