Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority (Dafza) is offering its expertise in managing free zones for developing countries, reported the Gulf News on Monday.
Dafza is holding talks with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (Unido) and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad), to finalize a list of countries.
Juma Al Matrooshi, Dafza director of licensing and commercial operations, said, "Once Unido and Unctad identify the countries which need our expertise to run their free zones, we would work on the formalities to be completed before we take up the job."
Dafza won't invest in these free zones. Instead, it will train the personnel to run them, or will manage them while the UN bodies handle the financial side.
Al Matrooshi didn't say how many free zones Dafza can manage, according to the paper.
"We have enough expertise and personnel at our disposal. Dafza is now being dubbed one of the best managed free zones in the region."
Dubai Ports Authority (DPA) is managing foreign ports like Jeddah and Djibouti, and is on the lookout for more. Dafza, set up in 1996, has recorded significant growth. Already 121 companies are registered and about 500 applications have been received, said the paper – Albawaba.com
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