Dubai Chamber celebrates city's cultural diversity

Held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline & Group, the Dubai Business Gala aims at providing an exceptional platform for local and international businesses to build up new trade relations, exchange expertise and explore commercial opportunities in an entertaining atmosphere and to work towards the Chamber's strategic objective of promoting Dubai as an international business hub.

HE Eng. Hamad Buamim, Director General, Dubai Chamber, maintained that Dubai is a melting pot of cultures with hundreds of nationalities residing and doing business in Dubai making the city an ideal investment destination in the region, "Over the past decade, Dubai has emerged as a true metropolitan city where different ethnicities live and work in harmony and we wanted to celebrate this particular aspect of Dubai. The Dubai Business Gala 2009 combines business with culture and we feel this platform will ultimately serve our long term strategy of creating a favorable business atmosphere and supporting the development of business, especially in these trying times of the global financial downturn."

The annual event will see the active participation of the members of 35 Business Councils and 24 Business Groups that operate under the auspices of Dubai Chamber and represent major businesses in their respective countries and industries, as well as global business leaders. It will also attract the 78 overseas representative offices, trade delegations, free zone companies and the overall Dubai business community.

The black-tie event, whose registration procedure and information is available on Dubai Chamber website is being promoted through a creative marketing and communication campaign that reaches out to the Chamber's members and the business community highlighting the rich cultural diversity of Dubai that has made the city the multinational center for business in the region.

Added Buamim, "Dubai Business Gala is also a tribute to the outstanding role played by our various Business Councils and Groups in the economic development of Dubai. Despite current economic challenges, the business community of Dubai has demonstrated a remarkable ability to override and neutralize these challenges helping Dubai move forward with its infrastructure projects and economic activities."

Buamim also highlighted Dubai Chamber's mission of representing, supporting and protecting the interests of Dubai's business community and its role of a conduit between the public and private sectors. He said that as a business facilitator the Chamber strives to facilitate meetings between representatives of different economic sectors as well as the private sectors and Government officials to help bridge any gaps that may exist between various private and public sectors. He also maintained that policy advocacy is high on the Chamber's priority list as it believes in the importance of starting a constructive dialogue between the business community and various government and public sectors.

On the current state of the economy, Buamim pointed out that the recovery phase has already been set off through the government's fiscal policies of stimulating the economy including the easing of liquidity conditions, state guarantees on all bank deposits, and abolition of the minimum capital requirement.

On the export trends Buamim maintained that the monthly average of exports reached over Dhs15bon which bodes well for the economy with the expectations of rise in demand for oil and urged the business community to take advantage of the trend and work jointly for the improvement of the business climate.

One of the heads of the participating business councils, Bill Ryan, Chairman of the American Business Council, welcomed the idea of the Gala saying that the event will go a long way in bringing the business people from the far ends of the world together in building up a strong global business community.

Ryan further stressed that the American businessmen preferred Dubai to other Gulf destinations for the Emirate's open business policy and acceptance of others' cultures as a result the US ranks 3rd on the list of Dubai's global trading partners. The number of American partnership firms operating in Dubai stood at 1,034 with 102 companies directly owned by Americans as the volume of export and re-export trade between Dubai and the US stood at Dhs5.74bn at the end of 2008.

Paras Shahdadpuri, President of the Indian Business and Professional Council said the Gala event will open doors for the participants to share their experiences and to exchange ideas about developing business and building newer ties in a highly culturally-charged atmosphere.

Paras highlighted the excellent trade relations India shared with Dubai as the country ranked first on the list of Dubai's trading partners. He maintained that the volume of non-oil trade between Dubai and India jumped to Dhs28bn in 2008 from the Dhs19bn figure in 2007 reflecting a strong trading relationship between the two countries.

Mark Beer, Chairman of the British Business Group in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, said:

"As the largest and most active business group in the region, we are delighted to support the Dubai Chamber with its exceptional events. Our members are looking forward to attending the Gala Dinner as it promises to be a superb platform for serious business professionals to network."

Beer pointed out that UK companies find Dubai to be a rewarding and secure place from which to do business, with the UK having been the leading provider of Foreign Direct Investment in recent years, "We have had a 20% increase in enquiries from British companies contemplating moving their operations to Dubai during the current Global crisis. Where else in the world would you rather be at this time."