A new agreement between Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone (RAK FTZ) and the Emirates Centre of Commerce in Italy (ECCI) will open the way for further business opportunities between Italy and the UAE.
RAK FTZ, one of the fastest-growing free zones in the MENA region, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ECCI, with the goal of bringing more businesses and investors to Ras Al Khaimah.
ECCI is an organisation, based in Milan, which specialises in networking and promotion and has contacts in many private and government organisations.
As part of the terms of the MoU, ECCI will host and attend exhibitions and road shows in Italy, as well as organise inward and outward delegations, comprised of journalists, diplomats, or potential investors. The MoU also states that ECCI will set up a base in RAK FTZ, and the free zone will coordinate with ECCI’s office in Milan to organise joint promotional events.
RAK FTZ CEO, Oussama El Omari, comments “We are very pleased to welcome ECCI to Ras Al Khaimah and incorporate them into our network. Not only will this agreement enhance Ras Al Khaimah’s business relations with Italy and help RAK FTZ to attract more Italian investors, but ECCI’s presence here will also prove beneficial to the substantial number of Italian companies already registered with us, who will be able to work with ECCI to expand their connections and access to business opportunities in Italy.”
ECCI Vice President, Stefano Napoleone, says Ras Al Khaimah, compared with other locations, offers many benefits for Italian investors and businesses.
“For industrial companies especially, we believe that Ras Al Khaimah is the right location,” he says. “In the New Year, we will travel around Italy to explain to people just how beneficial it would be for them to come here.”
Of the 4,000 active companies registered with RAK FTZ, around 100 are from Italy. Napoleone believes the new agreement will help to boost that number, and that more events, like the recent Italian delegation to Ras Al Khaimah that ECCI organised, which included Her Excellency Patrizia Giarratana, Deputy Director of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, will raise the profile of RAK throughout the Italian business community. The delegation also included the representatives of the l’Unione Nazionale dei Cantieri e delle Industrie Nautiche e Affini (UCINA), the influential Confindustria maritime arm to evaluate the feasibility of a maritime project in partnership with RAK Free Trade Zone.
“The delegation was very successful,” says Napoleone. “It helped to generate a lot of interest, and it shows that Italian enterprises are very interested in bringing their business here.”
This MoU is not the first that RAK FTZ has signed recently. In November, RAK FTZ signed a similar agreement with the Australian Business Council. These agreements fit well with the free zone’s business philosophy, which focuses on expansion and service.
