Dubai, UAE, January 3, 2021: Pankaj Savara, a leading International Trade and Investment specialist in the region and Commissioner for the Government of Western Australia in the UAE is completing his tenure after building relationships for 25 years between UAE and Australia across both the private and public sectors. He was one of the longest-serving Commissioners for the W. Australian Government, globally.
Savara is moving on to make a much deeper impact on Australia, UAE, and greater Gulf to further propel the trade relationships and continue to engage with Australia and the region. Having joined the Australian Trade and Investment Commission in 1995, Mr. Savara later moved to setup UAE businesses in Australia, and since the last 15 years was serving as the Commissioner for Western Australia for the Middle East and Africa region, based in Dubai. Leveraging on the numerous opportunities this region provides, Mr. Savara has extensively collaborated with Australian companies’ and key ME customers to achieve success for UAE and Australia.
“After having lived in UAE for close to three decades I have been fortunate to develop a rich understanding of the economic, social, and diverse cultural developments across several countries and continents. I will continue to play a major role in further strengthening the bond and trade relationships between Australia and this region” added Mr. Savara.During his tenure based in the UAE, Mr. Savara proactively facilitated noteworthy trade and investment deals across major industries such as Technology, Mining & Energy, Food & Agribusiness, Infrastructure, Education, Tourism and Defence sectors for the Middle East & Africa region. Whilst through investments, he successfully initiated and concluded inaugural investment into Western Australia from UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait.
“Australia offers very attractive and safe investment destination for the Gulf investors, and Gulf airline connections have further helped trade, tourism and cultural exchanges between two regions, and moving forward; I am looking forward to further strengthening it” added Savara. He is known as the “Google go-to person” for any information, market analysis or business launch in the Middle East or MEASA region, by his mentors.
In 2006, Savara was appointed as the Commissioner, the Middle East for Western Australian Trade, and Investment office, and drove consistent trade growth, established bilateral relations, and created value-adding networks in the region, supporting Western Australia and Middle East countries. Furthermore, he opened the first WA trade Office in Kenya, Africa for Mining Services, and International student recruitment – the first to set up the office by any Australian state in Africa.
Australian universities in the UAE
Contributed towards the UAE’s education sector by bringing Australian Universities to the UAE. Encouraging the educational linkages, he facilitated the setting up of partnerships for 3 WA universities in the UAE – Murdoch, Curtin, and ECU, while supporting the setting up NAVITAS office in the UAE - Australia’s largest university pathway provider. As Commissioner Mr. Savara was instrumental in hosting numerous dignitaries on either side including Governor-General and Australia Ministers, and members of the Gulf Royal families and other VIP delegations.
He is married and has two children, who are settled in Melbourne and Dubai.
