By Rafiq Vayani
DUBAI: Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry yesterday hosted ambassadors and members of the diplomatic corps in the UAE at its annual Diplomatic Circle Dinner where delegates were briefed on the Chamber’s recent highlights and achievements, as well as strategic initiatives, activities and major events planned for 2019.
The exclusive gathering was attended by over 120 delegates, including ambassadors, consul generals and senior UAE officials. The dinner featured speeches and presentations from H.E. Majid Saif Al Ghurair, Chairman of Dubai Chamber; H.E. Hamad Buamim, President and CEO of Dubai Chamber; and Dr. Noah Raford, Chief Operating Officer and Futurist-in-Chief at the Dubai Future Foundation.
In his welcome remarks, H.E. Al Ghurair thanked members of the diplomatic corps for their valuable support and contribution towards building mutual understanding, facilitating knowledge sharing and dialogue and identifying opportunities that offer the most potential to businesses in Dubai.
H.E. Al Ghurair highlighted the important role that the diplomatic community plays in supporting Dubai Chamber-led trade missions and building Dubai’s economic ties with promising markets around the world, adding that Dubai Chamber looks forward to working with its diplomatic partners on new initiatives, projects and events in 2019.
For his part, H.E. Buamim Dubai Chamber provided a detailed overview of Dubai Chamber’s recent achievements, and strategic plans and initiatives, as well as major upcoming events organised by Dubai Chamber this year, including the third Global Business Forum (GBF) Latin America in Panama and the fifth GBF Africa in Dubai.
Elaborating on Dubai Chamber’s expansion plans, H.E. Buamim revealed that the Chamber recently opened a representative office in Argentina, its third in Latin America, and noted that the organisation is planning to open offices in two new markets in Latin America and Asia later this year.
Dubai Chamber promoted Dubai at 80 international events in 2018, and received more than 4,700 visiting delegations from all over the world over the last five years, H.E. Buamim revealed. He said the Chamber is actively supporting key objectives outlined under the Dubai Plan 2021 and other forward-looking strategies that aim to strengthen Dubai’s position as global innovation hub which is increasingly leveraging advanced technologies that support its sustainable growth.
In addition, H.E. Buamim shared his optimistic outlook for Dubai’s economic prospects in 2019, and noted that the positive impact from government-led stimulus initiatives and business-friendly measures introduced over the last year by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is already being felt within the emirate’s business community.
