Strong Partnership between the Public & Private Sectors

H.E. Hamad Buamim, Director General, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, attributed the economic success of Dubai to the strong partnership between the public and private sectors stating that this two-way communication is the most important basis of the partnership which goes a long way in supporting the economic development of the emirate.

H.E. Buamim was speaking at the 2nd Talk Business at Breakfast networking meeting of the year organised by Dubai Chamber at its head office on Monday. The event brought representatives of the private sector face to face with H.E. Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director General of Dubai Municipality.He also emphasised on Dubai Chamber’s priority to strengthen the partnership between the public and private sectors through such constructive dialogues which stimulate an exchange of ideas on key issues while helping improve the competitiveness of the business community.

H.E. Buamim took the opportunity to highlight the growth witnessed by the trade sector as he said that Dubai Chamber members’ exports and re-exports during the month of April registered a 15.2% growth valuing at AED 22.1 billion in comparison to the same month last year while 5,241 exporters dispatched good to 170 global markets which clearly shows the leading role played by the trade sector and the return of the investors’ confidence in the emirate’s vibrant economy.

On his part, H.E. Hussain Nasser Lootah, informed the gathering about the important functions of Dubai Municipality which he said included urban planning, development of parks and squares, city beautification, cleanliness, sanitation and waste management, environmental monitoring and control, food safety and occupational hazard control. He also highlighted new projects for monitoring of fog as well as traffic safety, construction of new markets and the setting up of a huge sewage plant for wastewater treatment in Jebel Ali which all combined will make Dubai an ideal place to work and live in.

H.E. Lootah stated that the UAE is well-known for its simplification of building permits procedures as the country improved its ranking from 54 in 2009 to 12 in 2012 in the World Bank Report Ease of Doing Business as his department contributed to the procedure by considerably reducing the steps involved including time of service to obtain the permit. The Municipality issued 28,811 building permits last year, he said. The Director General of Dubai Municipality revealed the construction of a new departure reporting port on Dubai Creek which will reduce the traffic on the currently used departure reporting sport by 50%. This new wharf will make the entry, exit, and inspection processes faster and increase the volume of the costumers’ content while allowing them to promote their trade activities in the emirate H.E. Lootah informed that the Municipality issued 2,200 permits for establishing food outlets in 2011 while also issued 1,974 permits for temporary food activities. The Department also received 253,259 requests for import and export of food items last year, he said.