Azerbaijan President receives Dubai Chamber delegation

During a meeting with the visiting Dubai Chamber delegation, President Ilham Aliyev stated that the opening of the new office will help in strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries in the long run.

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan added that the bilateral relations between the UAE and his country was headed in the right direction as both the sides were negotiating investments in various lucrative areas of investments for businesses from the two countries.

Dubai Chamber delegation requested visa issuance facilities for UAE businesses and President Ilham Aliyev praised the efforts of the UAE authorities in handling visas for businesses and investors and expressed the intention to imitate Dubai's experience in issuing visas for investors.

The President of Azerbaijan praised the opening of Dubai Chamber representative office and called for joint UAE-Azerbaijan investment partnerships in the markets of Russia and Turkey.

His Excellency pointed out at two important areas of cooperation which he said included the financial and infrastructural sectors in his country which needed Dubai's expertise while food processing and agriculture are the sectors which the UAE can benefit from stating that Azerbaijan is known for the quality of its food products while the UAE seeks its food supplies from the overseas markets.

He also stressed on the potential offered by the tourism sector which he said is a lucrative area of investment for UAE businesses as he looked forward for joint investments, particularly in the prestigious Baku White City, which is one of the largest modern development projects in the world.

Dubai Chamber successfully concluded its trade mission to Azerbaijan as the non-profit organisation opened its first overseas representative office in the Azeri capital, Baku, and organised the UAE-Azerbaijan Business Forum as well as important business meetings between the UAE and Azerbaijani businesses on the sidelines of the trade mission.

The trade mission, which consisted of over 20 top Dubai business leaders from various economic sectors, networked with over 200 Azeri participants during the UAE-Azerbaijan Business Forum as the delegates asked several questions regarding investment opportunities in Azerbaijan to the officials of Azerbaijan Investment Promotion (AzPromo).

On their part, the officials of AzPromo informed the delegates about the benefits available to them which included the agreement on the avoidance of double taxation between the two countries, one-stop shop, easy visa and licencing procedures and availability of contacts in Azeri as well as other international languages.

They also informed the visitors about their free trade agreements with other CIS countries, attractive tax system for SMEs and no taxes on agricultural products which grabbed the attention of the visitors.

The delegates also visited the Baku White City project, build entirely on ecologically reclaimed industrial zone and open to domestic and foreign investments, especially for residential and commercial buildings.

When completed the Baku White City will be able to accommodate approximately 50,000 people, will have 10 districts providing 18,000 residential and commercial units and will also have the largest retail and entertainment centre, with a metro station and a shopping centre. After reviewing the various aspects of the City, many UAE business leaders have expressed interest in investing in this important project.

H.E. Hamad Buamim, Director General, Dubai Chamber, informed that the trade mission has achieved its objective of reaching out to promising markets of the world, especially through the successful opening of the Chamber's first overseas representative office in Baku, as well as the sharing of synergies in the areas of investment potential such as agriculture, construction, tourism, hospitality and logistics by large companies from both the countries.

The Director General of Dubai Chamber further stressed that choosing Azerbaijan amongst the CIS countries was based on an in-depth study which showed ample promise in various lucrative areas of investment in Azerbaijan as well as a gateway for investments in the CIS, Central Asia and the Caucasus region.

The opening of Dubai Chamber's first representative office in Baku will be followed by a series of offices in areas offering high investment potential for Dubai businesses to explore the investment opportunities in these emerging markets safely and quickly.

The members of the delegation expressed their satisfaction with the visit as H.E. Essa Al Ghurair, Chairman, Al Ghurair Resources LLC, stated that his company sees a very promising future in Azerbaijan and a very attractive environment for business to operate and flourish as they currently have a small investment which is the installation and maintenance of Mitsubishi Elevators in Azerbaijan and are enthusiastically looking into agriculture, oil and gas in the near future.

He lauded the role of Dubai Chamber which he said has been a very powerful leader in advocating best practices and helped organisations move forward through an integrated CSR strategy in their business operations. It also provides businesses with a platform to explore diverse business opportunities both locally and internationally, said Al Ghurair.

Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO, flydubai, said, "As we celebrate our third year of operations to Azerbaijan, we have seen passenger numbers between Baku and Dubai increase by 107% since November 2009, which shows the significance of the Azeri market. Today, flydubai operates to 16 destinations across 11 countries in Central & Eastern Europe and CIS region. We have managed to balance quality with cost-effectiveness and provide underserved markets, such as Baku, with reliable direct links to the UAE."

He added, "Following the launch of flydubai Cargo at the start of 2012, we have also established an affordable freight network between our respective nations. The opening of Dubai Chamber's representative office in Baku will further strengthen foreign investment opportunities between the UAE and Azerbaijan. We look forward to supporting this initiative through facilitating travel to assist in the further exploration of key economic sectors."

H.E. Khaled Mohamed Al Badi, Board Member, Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that his Chamber looks at this visit with great importance as it reflects good economic relations between the two countries while leading to joint investment cooperation in areas of interest for both the sides.

He pointed out that many UAE companies went to invest in Azerbaijan, especially in the fields of energy, infrastructure and real estate sectors, which shows the investment potential offered to UAE companies in the Azeri market.

On his part, H.E Ali Saif Al Mansouri, Board Member, Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stated that he welcomes the establishment of joint investment projects with Azeri companies which he said will lead to enhanced economic cooperation and open new areas of investment between the two countries, adding that the Chamber was fully prepared to support businessmen from Azerbaijan who want to work and invest in the UAE in general and Abu Dhabi in particular.