Dubai Chamber Highlights Business Synergies With Malta

H.E. Majed Al Shamsi, 1stVice Chairman, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, received a strong 40-member Maltese delegation led by Hon Dr. Konrad Mizzi, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta, recently at the Chamber head office.

The meeting was also attended by Hon Dr. Emmanuel Mallia, Minister for Competitiveness and Digital, Maritime and Services Economy, Malta, H.E. Hamad Buamim, President and CEO, Dubai Chamber, and representatives of the business community.

Held in cooperation with TradeMalta, Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise & Industry, FinanceMalta and Malta Enterprise, the meeting came as part of the Chamber’s efforts to highlight the synergies between Dubai and Malta’s business communities and to further enhance the bilateral trade ties between the two sides.

Welcoming the Maltese delegation, H.E. Majid Al Shamsi, stated that Malta is a priority market for Dubai as it’s ideally located to take advantage of trade flows between Europe and Africa. Malta’s fast-growing ICT, aviation and shipping sectors are also attractive options for UAE investors and businesses that want to diversify and expand.

“We have earlier signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry and have since been working to forge closer bilateral ties through networking and business exchanges between UAE companies and their Maltese counterparts,” said H.E. Majid Al Shamsi.

The non-oil trade between Dubai and Malta reached $71 million in 2015, accounting for a majority of the country’s trade with the UAE. Bilateral trade is very diverse and covers a wide range of sectors and product categories. Machinery and electrical/electronic equipment dominated as Malta’s top export product to Dubai last year in terms of value, followed by prepared foodstuff and transport equipment.

“There are plenty of exciting prospects that can be explored to grow this volume and attract more Maltese companies to do business in Dubai. We see this event as an important step in taking our trade relationship to the next level,” said H.E. Al Shamsi.

He added, “Dubai offers the ideal investment and business destination for companies in Malta given its thriving economy, modern infrastructure and strong regulatory framework. We see huge potential for Dubai businesses to form joint ventures their Maltese counterparts in trade, shipping, Islamic finance, aviation, logistics and ICT sectors.

On his part, Dr Konrad Mizzi, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta stated that Dubai and Malta have a lot in common as both the economies are going through an interesting phase of diversification while concentrating on enhancing their service sectors including financial services, maritime, logistics, manufacturing and digital economy. Dubai has a developed services sector, Malta is pushing for reforms and can adopt the emirate’s example in developing its service sector.

The Honourable Minister also stated that both Dubai and Malta serve as strategic gateways to their respective regions and complement each other in many areas and can work together in developing their maritime hub. He urged Dubai investors to explore investment opportunities in Malta which he said is open for business and welcomes overseas investors with open arms.

Dr. Mizzi added that Malta has invested in three hotels in Dubai and called upon his country’s investors to increase their footprint in the emirate further in the areas of hospitality and tourism while exploring newer avenues of bilateral cooperation.

In his closing remarks, Dr. Emmanuel Mallia, Minister for Competitiveness and Digital, Maritime Services Economy, Malta, thanked Dubai Chamber for hosting the event which he said augurs success for Maltese businesses and their counterparts in Dubai as he highlighted opportunities available for the emirate’s businesses in using Malta as a foothold in the European Union and a gateway to the African Continent.

Malta may be a small economy, but it has an impressive track record when it comes to weathering challenging conditions and maintaining strong growth. The country’s economy is well diversified and mainly driven by its financial services, tourism, real estate, and manufacturing sectors.

The country’s GDP stood at 8.8 billion euros in 2015 with high exports per capita of over 28,000 euros pointing to the essentially export-driven economy.