Dubai-Hamburg Business Forum 2007 kicks off today

A large number of representatives of leading economic establishments, decision makers and businessmen from Dubai, along with more than 50 CEOs, business leaders and directors of top German companies from Hamburg, will attend the Forum.

The Forum aims at exploring new horizons in the economic relations between Dubai and Hamburg. It also aims at enhancing bilateral cooperation between the two business communities and introducing the investment opportunities available in Dubai and Hamburg, due to the similar economic and strategic features that both cities share. The event offers a chance for the UAE businessmen and decision makers to meet their German counterparts from Hamburg to discuss potential bilateral cooperation in a number of economic sectors.

HE Engineer Hamad Buamim, Director General of Dubai Chamber, highlighted the Chamber's interest in making this Forum a success for it would help enhance bilateral economic ties between Dubai and Hamburg and provide a chance to establish joint ventures in different economic sectors such as aviation, banking & finance, energy, healthcare, foreign trade, logistics and maritime.

"Dubai Chamber has already completed its preparations to successfully host the Dubai-Hamburg Business Forum 2007. The event represents a major turning point in the developing economic ties between Dubai and Hamburg, thanks to the Forum's significant schedule which will include a number of lectures, presentations and discussions to be run by elite speakers from both countries. They will discuss the potentials of developing real cooperation in a number of active economic sectors in order to come out with a number of recommendations that would help enhance the economic partnership concept between Dubai and Hamburg," said Buamim.

The program of the Forum includes a number of business sessions in which the speakers from both cities will introduce the participants to the development aspects of the economic sectors concerned. In the banking & finance sector, a representative from the National Bank of Dubai (NBD) will deliver a lecture about the bank's leading experience and a summery of the banking sector in Dubai. Representatives from Dubai Hospitals, Dubai Healthcare City and Dubai Biotechnology and Research Park (DuBiotech) will introduce the German business community to the aspects of the prosperous healthcare sector in Dubai.

Other representatives from the Dubai Maritime City and ARAMEX will also talk about the logistics and maritime services in Dubai, while other representatives from the Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower) and the Middle East Petrochem & Engineering & Technology will conduct two separate lectures on the recent activities of energy sector in Dubai.

The Director General of Dubai Chamber noted that Germany, which enjoys the third largest economy in the world and the biggest in Europe, is the biggest strategic partner to the UAE, as there are 5 German trading representative centers operating in the UAE, as well as the German Business Council which is one of the most active business councils that operate under the umbrella of Dubai Chamber. There are 500 German companies working in Dubai as Dubai's total non-oil trade with Germany reached Dhs24bn in 2006.