The Sharjah skyline.
The Sharjah skyline. Image Credit: Gulf News Archives

Dubai: Sharjah saw an increase of 40 per cent in the number of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects, with the robust growth expected to continue until 2021, according to Mohammad Jama Al Musharrakh, CEO (Sharjah Office) for Invest in Sharjah, told delegates at the Annual Investment Meeting.

“Sharjah has great infrastructure facilities and geographical advantage, which makes it a good place for investors. We have six free zones, which serve as a great starting point for companies to start businesses. With a special focus on sectors like healthcare, tourism, education and technology, we are growing quite good,” Al Musharrakh said.

The AIM, whose theme was ‘Mapping the Future of FDI: Enriching World Economies through Digital Globalisation’ was attended by 20,000 delegates from 140 countries.

We have six free zones, which serve as a great starting point for companies to start businesses. With a special focus on sectors like health care, tourism, education and technology, we are growing quite good.

- Mohammad Jama Al Musharrakh, CEO (Sharjah Office) for Invest in Sharjah

The event also witnessed the presence of four presidents, one deputy president and 40 ministers.

The presidents and the sole deputy president in attendance include Bolivia’s Evo Morales, Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari, Rustam Minnikhanov, President of Tatarstan, Russian Federation; Ramzan Kadyrov, Head of the Chechen Republic, Russian Federation; and Huchiev Muslim, Deputy Chairman of the Chechen Republic, Russian Federation.

Among others, Italy also presented a strong case for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) at AIM.

Gianpaolo Bruno, Italian Trade Commissioner to the UAE, Oman and Pakistan, said: “The Italian government provides various benefits to foreign investors, including investment loans at discounted rates of interest, state guarantees for exporters and other financial aid. Foreign investors can enjoy valuable returns on their investment in [the] logistics sector, real estate, [the] Italian tourism industry, food sectors, IT, pharma, electronics and consumer goods.”