Dubai Chamber Hosts UAE-Moldova Business Forum

The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry today hosted the UAE-Moldova Business Forum at its premises, which was attended by a high-level Moldovan delegation led by Chiril Gaburici, the country’s Minister of Economy and Infrastructure.

The forum, organised in cooperation with Moldova Investment and Export Promotion Organisation, MIEPO, highlighted attractive trade and investment opportunities in Moldova, specifically focusing on several key sectors such as telecommunications, agriculture, infrastructure and tourism.

Minister Gaburici and the Moldovan delegates were received by Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy; Majid Al Shamsi, Vice Chairman of Dubai Chamber; Mohammed Ahmed Al Shehhi, Under-Secretary for Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Economy; senior Dubai Chamber officials and several UAE businessmen.

During his opening speech, Al Mansouri emphasised the remarkable development of the bilateral relations between the UAE and Moldova considering both countries’ interest in advancing economic and trade cooperation, which was reflected in the high-profile visits between the two countries and the signing of several specific cooperation agreements.

Al Mansouri noted that one of the most important steps taken by the two countries were plans to establish the Joint Economic Committee as part of the cooperation agreement, which he described as an important platform to discuss mutual areas of cooperation, as well as opportunities and challenges for investors and businessmen in both countries.

The Minister of Economy described the forum as an important platform to enhance communication between the UAE and Moldovan business communities, adding that the private sector has a key role to play in forging economic relations.

He revealed that non-oil trade between the UAE and Moldova amounted to US$8.2 million in 2017 with non-oil exports increasing by 33.7 percent compared to the previous year. He further noted that there is great potential to grow this volume in the near future.

He also highlighted the attractive business and investment environment in the UAE, in addition to growth plans outlined under the UAE Vision 2021. He spoke about recent efforts to develop the country’s potential in the areas of knowledge and innovation and identified renewable energy, water, transport, technology, health, education and space as key sectors which are expected to drive the UAE’s economic growth in the future.

Minister Gaburici said, "The UAE is a potential market to be capitalised both for the export of domestic products and as a source of foreign investment. Participating in this event is an opportunity for Moldovan companies to present their services and products."

He described the forum as a platform providing access to new trade opportunities and potential business partnerships between Moldovan and UAE companies.

Dubai Chamber’s Vice Chairman noted that Moldova’s agricultural sector offers a great deal of untapped potential, and said that the country would benefit greatly by cooperating with the UAE on food security.

He concluded by pledging Dubai Chamber’s full support in facilitating Dubai-Moldova trade and ensuring that bilateral relations flourish in the future.

The forum also featured a presentation from MIEPO focusing on attractive investment opportunities opening up in Moldova. A total of 80 bilateral business meetings were held following the event which was joined by a wide variety of Moldovan companies and their UAE counterparts.