Dubai Chamber hosted 3rd quarterly roundtable discusses traders’ issues

As part of its efforts to bridge the gap between the private and public sectors, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted the 3^rd quarterly roundtable meeting of the year, which was attended by representatives of Dubai’s Business Councils and Business Groups operating under the umbrella of Dubai Chamber. 

With its agenda of getting a quarterly update from the business community, the meeting organised at the Chamber premises on Tuesday, was held in the presence of Mr. Atiq Juma Nassib, Senior Director, Commercial Services Sector and Mr. Hassan Al Hashemi, Director, External Relations, and came as part of Dubai Chamber’s strategy to reinforce two-way communication with all its stakeholders and to discuss the challenges faced by the business community. 

The quarterly meeting highlighted the various Dubai Chamber initiatives, which are geared towards better serving the 41 Business Councils and 26 Business Groups, and to boost the members’ competitiveness in the local, regional and global markets as Al Hashemi highlighted the Chamber’s efforts in opening its first overseas offices in Baku, Azerbaijan, and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which he said are beginning to take shape with the recruitment of staff for these offices as also the Chamber’s preparations for taking a trade mission to Azerbaijan in November for a series of meetings with key government and business representatives there. 

Highlighting Dubai’s outlook for 2013, Al Hashemi informed that with the GDP growth forecast, Dubai is destined to outperform the slow global trend with its higher commodities exports, new sources of tourism and large scale investments from local and international operators as well as consumer confidence and new business growth which he said will prompt higher trading activity. 

Summing up the volume of trade in the last eight months, Al Hashemi said the exports and re-exports of Dubai Chamber members registered a 12% growth reaching AED 181 billion which clearly indicates that Dubai is headed in the right direction despite the decline in global trade which fell by 1.4% in June. 

The Director of External Relations further stressed that the roundtable discussions allow Dubai Chamber members to network, catch up and compare their progress throughout the course of the previous quarters and provide them a platform to put across any issues or challenges faced by their sectors which are promptly conveyed to the concerned Government authorities. 

He also appreciated the contribution of the various Business Councils and Business Groups to the economic growth of Dubai and their commitment to promote Dubai as an international business hub in light of the emirate’s bid to host the Expo 2020 and their support in spreading the message back home in their respective countries. 

On their part, the representatives of the Business Councils and Business Groups lauded Dubai Chamber’s support to the private sector by providing them better business opportunities as also by reaching out to new markets and encouraging an open forum to discuss issues which ultimately helps in enhancing the competitiveness of Dubai businesses.