Over 2,000 delegates expected at Comesa meet

Dubai: The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry has completed preparations to host the fourth Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) Investment Forum, to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Madinat Jumeirah.

Organised in cooperation with the Comesa Regional Investment Agency (RIA), the forum will be held under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

More than 2,000 participants, including ministers, senior officials and businessmen from the UAE, the GCC and the countries of Comesa are expected.

Hamad Bu Amim, Director-General of the Dubai Chamber, said that with Dubai's strategic location and infrastructure, it can facilitate trade between Comesa countries and other markets.

"As an ideal platform for sustainable economic growth, Dubai's strategic geographic location represents a vital lifeline to the flow of trade across the world," he said. The UAE's trade with Comesa increased substantially between 2002 and 2008.

The volume of imports from the Comesa region to the UAE increased at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36 per cent, while exports and re-exports from the UAE to Comesa registered a CAGR increase of 47 per cent and 19 per cent respectively.

The volume of non-oil trade between Dubai and Comesa in 2009 reached Dh26.6 billion as Dubai's imports reached Dh9.3 billion, while exports and re-exports to Comesa countries were valued at Dh17.3 billion.