Wife of Guinean President visits DCCI

The interview was attended by H.E. Hadja Mahawa Bangora, Ex-Guinean Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Minister and Personal Advisor to Guinea's First lady, H.E. Ali Ibrahim Sella, Guinean Ambassador to the UAE and Sultan Lootah, Director of Business Promotion of DCCI. Also attending the interview was H.E. Ali Jamal, Guinean Consul General in Dubai, as well as a number of Guinean figures and embassy and consulate general staffs of Guinea in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Al-Mutaiwee welcomed his guest, Wife of Guinean President who is on her first visit to Dubai, and her accompanying delegation. During the interview ways of enhancing and developing trade and economic ties were discussed between Guinea and the UAE in general, and Dubai and Guinea, in particular.

"In the name of H.E. Lansana Conte, President of Guinea, we extend our heart-felt condolences to the UAE in general, and Dubai, in particular on the sad demise of the Late H.H. Sheikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, and at the same time extend our thanks and appreciation to the emirate of Dubai represented by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai and Defence Minister of the UAE, for the warm reception and hospitality accorded to us, and being here we would like to seize this opportunity to boost trading and economic ties between Dubai and Guinea and on this occasion we invite H.E. Abdurrahman Al-Mutaiwee, DCCI Director General, to visit Guinea to discuss a number of issues of mutual interest including the customs tariffs decrease and signing mutual agreements to activate commerce between the two sides," said Henriete Conte, Guinea's First Lady.

"We are honored to receive Guinean Wife of President in the DCCI and her accompanying delegation, and this visit has a special significance due to the prestigious status we have about Guinea's government and people, and we also consider Guinea as one of the countries that plays a strategic role in West Africa thanks to its significant location, which is regarded a gateway for Dubai to pass through to the region's markets such as Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana and Republic of Benin, exactly like Dubai's role as a gateway to the Middle East, and this would certainly push forward trading and economic ties between the two sides and we, in this connection, highly rate the efforts being exerted by the two sides, particularly the painstaking of H.E. Ali Ibrahim Sella, Guinean Ambassador to the UAE in order to broaden and deepen these ties," said Al-Mutaiwee.

It is worth noting that Dubai enjoys extensive trading and economic ties with a number of African countries, especially West African countries including Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria and Republic of Benin. DCCI will organize the UAE Trade Exhibition in Ghana and Senegal in April, which is going to be a key step towards entering the West African markets that are considered promising and abounding with economic and trading opportunities for the business community in Dubai. The non-oil trade between Dubai and Guinea is $31.4 million (AED115 million).

Guinea is located in West Africa and has a population of approximately 8 million people, 51% of whom are women and 45% under the age of 30, a young nation. Once a French colony, it was the first African country to gain independence in 1958. The country is rich in natural resources, most of which have yet to be exploited.