Forging closer ties

The Dubai-Hamburg Business Forum 2007 will provide a platform for collaboration between the two countries.

As part of its strategy to support the growing business community of Dubai and enhance its relations with overseas counterparts, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) is hosting the Dubai-Hamburg Business Forum 2007 in cooperation with the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce (October 23 and 24) at the Dubai Chamber's Creek headquarters.

The forum aims to strengthen mutual cooperation between the business communities of Dubai and Hamburg in different economic sectors, as well as benefit from the business and investment opportunities in both cities. Dubai and Hamburg share several common features of economic importance due to their strategic locations, active business climate and the investment opportunities they offer in the East and West.

While Dubai has played an important role in driving economic growth in the UAE, Hamburg (with its significant location in the heart of Europe) is important as a massive business hub and a unique trade centre that offers the best logistics services and commercial services between eastern Europe, the boom countries of the Baltic and the Asia-Pacific region.

In terms of aviation, Hamburg is home to one of Airbus' two assembly plants, while in Dubai Emirates airline awaits the delivery of 55 Airbus A380 super-jumbo aircraft.

Maritime issues are also of great importance to both cities, with Dubai Ports World long established as a global concern and Hamburg home to the second-largest port of Europe. More than 500 German companies are registered with the Dubai Chamber to operate in Dubai. The UAE is currently Germany's biggest trading partner in the Gulf.

According to Engineer Hamad Buamim, Director General of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Dubai Chamber), the forum will provide a platform for hundreds of businessmen and entrepreneurs in the UAE and Germany to discuss and exchange ideas about potential areas of cooperation in sectors such as aviation and aerospace, banking and finance, renewable energy, healthcare and life sciences, logistics and foreign trade and maritime.

"The Dubai-Hamburg Business Forum 2007 will help set up a new phase of the successful bilateral economic ties between Dubai and Hamburg for it provides decision-makers and investors from both countries with an opportunity to extend their relations and open new channels of commercial cooperation and establish new joint ventures," said Buamim. "We are immensely looking forward to promoting business between the two cities. The similarities between Dubai and Hamburg are such that this forum has a 'natural' feel to it."

Professor Dr. Hans-Jorge Schmidt-Trenz, Chief Executive Officer of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, said the Dubai-Hamburg Business Forum 2007 offers a new opportunity to discuss with the Dubai business community the potential areas of economic cooperation between Hamburg and Dubai.

"The Dubai-Hamburg Business Forum 2007 is one of the outstanding common projects, which, together with the students and teachers exchange programme between the University of Dubai and the HSBA-Hamburg School of Business Administration, gives Dubai and Hamburg the chance to explore new common business opportunities based on solid personal relations," said Dr. Schmidt-Trenz.

"In the last couple of years, the interest of our firms to conduct business in and with Dubai has remarkably increased. Some of the largest Hamburg-based companies have opened their Middle East headquarters in Dubai, for instance, the Beiersdorf, Eppendorf and Airbus."

Exploring opportunities

Representatives of more than 300 local and German companies of different economic sectors are taking part in the Dubai-Hamburg Business Forum 2007.

"The forum brings together a significant number of UAE and German economists to discuss ways of activating mutual cooperation in sectors such as renewable energy, as Hamburg is the largest European centre for producing renewable energy. Experts believe that the UAE has a huge potential to produce renewable energy.

Moreover, there is a chance for a close cooperation between Dubai and Hamburg in the aviation sector, since Hamburg is the world's third-largest centre for manufacturing and maintaining aircraft, whereas the Dubai Aerospace Enterprise has laid a strong base for aircraft industry in the emirate thanks to its huge aviation projects estimated at $15 billion (about Dh55 billion)," said Buamim.

The UAE has expressed an interest in Germany to be a major partner in helping the country produce renewable energy, as both countries are planning to set up a special economic zone for renewable energy production in the UAE.

In the aviation and aerospace industry, the two cities can cooperate in terms of manufacturing, maintaining and repairing aircrafts and its spare parts, in addition to producing raw materials. The Dubai Aerospace Enterprise has also established a strong foundation for the aviation industry in Dubai, which is expected to open several potential fields of cooperation between Dubai and Hamburg.

As for the maritime sector, the Germans see an opportunity of mutual cooperation between Dubai and Hamburg as the UAE could possibly supply Hamburg with raw materials and parts of ships because of the well-established steel factories available in the UAE. Both Hamburg and Dubai have very active seaports that handle millions of tonnes of commodities, as well as passengers.

Germany is the biggest strategic partner to the UAE as there are five German trading representative centres opening in the UAE. The German Business Council (one of the most active business councils) also operates under the umbrella of Dubai Chamber. In 2005, the volume of international trade between Hamburg and the UAE totalled 70 billion euros (about Dh364 billion), as the UAE became Germany's biggest trading partner in the region.

There are currently more than 400 Hamburg-based companies engaged in trade with the UAE; more than 300 companies export from Hamburg to the UAE; more than 50 Hamburg companies have overseas representatives in the UAE; and more than 20 companies have branch offices there. All this has helped Dubai become Germany's gateway to the Middle East.According to Buamim: "Dubai's non-oil trade with Germany reached Dh16 billion in 2006."

The forum is expected to have positive results in terms of providing opportunity for businessmen from Hamburg and Germany to discuss available investment opportunities in the two cities and how they can benefit from it.

— Information Courtesy: Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.