Dominican Republic's president visits Dubai

Dubai: Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, Vice Chairman of Dubai World, last week met Dr Leonel Fernandez, President of the Dominican Republic, and First Lady Dr Margarita Cedeno De Fernandez.

The meeting which covered topics related to bilateral economic co-operation, was held as part of the four-day visit to the UAE by Dr Fernandez and his high-level delegation.

The 65-member delegation of ministers, government officials and business leaders on Thursday toured some landmark Dubai World developments including Nakheel's The Palm Jumeirah, DP World's flagship Jebel Ali Port and Economic Zones World's Jebel Ali Free Zone.

On Thursday, Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah welcomed the Dominican leader and his team at Nakheel's headquarters, where the visitors were briefed on Nakheel's projects.

Dr Fernandez also met top management and senior officials of Dubai World, including Mohammad Sharaf, Chief Executive Officer of DP World, and Salma Hareb, Chief Executive Officer of Economic Zones World, at the Jebel Ali Free Zone.

Dubai World has strong ties with the Dominican Republic where its global marine terminal operator DP World manages and operates the Port of Caucedo, the country's top trade gateway.

"The delegation's visit highlights the importance the country attaches to DP World's presence there," said Bin Thaniah. "Caucedo is a leading contributor to the Dominican Republic's economic development and DP World has a major part in enabling the port to achieve its goal."

"The discussions covered various possibilities of furthering cooperation with the Dominican Republic," he added. "The visit also provided us with an opportunity to present to the delegation the various developments being undertaken by DP World and Economic Zones World and their significant contribution to the growth of Dubai and the UAE."

The Dominican leader lauded the development strategy followed by Dubai World and its companies and congratulated the group on the excellent management of its projects.

DP World began operations at the Caucedo container terminal in 2003. The Port of Caucedo forms an important part of DP World's operations in the Americas, which also include terminals in Argentina's Buenos Aires, Canada's Vancouver and Venezuela's Cabello and a new development in Peru's Callao.

The Dominican Republic's central location in the Caribbean gives Caucedo great potential to become a strategic shipping hub in the region.

New York office

Dubai World, through its subsidiary companies, has been strategically expanding its investment bases in the Americas. Port and free zone operations are among the core areas of this expansion.

Jafza International, the global arm of Economic Zones World, has launched a major logistics and business park project in South Carolina in the US.

Istithmar World, the group's investment arm, recently opened its international office in New York to focus on the opportunities in the US and the region.