High-level French delegation meets with Jafza officials

The delegation accompanied by the Consul General of France in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, HE Nada Yafi met with Chief Operating Officer of Jafza, Pat McGillycuddy, and Chief Commercial Officer, Ibrahim Al Janahi.

The visiting officials were taken on an extensive tour of the Free Zone's various award-winning facilities.

Talks between the delegation and Jafza representatives focused on investment opportunities, facilities and services offered by Jafza to help companies serve the Middle East markets efficiently.

Welcoming the delegation, Mr. Ibrahim Al Janahi said:

"Nord Pas de Calais is a well-known industrial region in France and many companies are looking to expand their operations to overseas destinations. We are very keen to forge more long-term sustainable partnerships with companies based there. France and Dubai have both witnessed growing bilateral trade over the decades. Jafza's trade with France in 2008 stood at $898m and we expect this figure to grow in future."

Mr. Al Janahi also disclosed that more than 100 French companies are at present based in Jafza including several top notch names such as Total, Schlumberger, Renault, Christian Dior among others, in different commercial, industrial and service sectors. The number of French companies in the Free Zone has grown almost four-fold since the turn of the millennium.

"Jafza has emerged as an important profit centre for these companies, serving key markets in the MENA region, Indian subcontinent and other emerging economies in West Asia. Over the years we have continued to generate significant interest from French companies eager to set up base here. This visit has underscored the opportunities for further trade between France and the countries in the region, which is why the Chamber of Commerce will host a business seminar on Dubai for French companies looking to trade from this region later this year," he added.

Mr. Pat McGillycuddy also briefed the visiting delegation on various Economic Zones World (EZW) projects in France that are being developed and executed by Gazeley, its specialised sustainable industrial and logistics infrastructure solution provider. EZW is the parent company of Jafza, Gazeley, TechnoPark and DAZ. It is currently engaged in more than 30 economic zones and logistics park projects worldwide.