Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Consulate General of Canada in Dubai held a meeting to discuss opportunities in areas such as digitalization, logistics, e-commerce, life sciences and sustainable technologies, via videoconference, on September 7th, 2020.

The meeting was chaired by H.E. Hamad Buamim, President and CEO of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and H.E. Jean-Philippe Linteau, Consul General of Canada in Dubai and the Northern Emirates.

The two leaders highlighted the fast-growing trade and investment relationships between the UAE and Canada. Recent examples of this include Dnata launching ground handling operations in Vancouver airport and DP World’s $8.2 billion co-investment platform with Canada’s pension fund, Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec to expand its global port and terminal operations.

H.E. Buamim highlighted Dubai’s vast competitive advantages and incentives for foreign companies and investors, which he says have strengthened the emirate’s value proposition in recent years. He lauded the government’s swift response in addressing new challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic and accelerating digital transformation, which he said was a key factor helping businesses successfully navigate the new normal. He described Canada as strategic economic partner to Dubai and stressed the importance of the emirate as a preferred trade and investment hub leveraged by Canadian companies.

H.E. Linteau commended the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s leadership in establishing Dubai as a strategic global business hub, especially in the context of post-COVID economic recovery. He also highlighted that the digitalization is certainly facilitating the business opportunities between the two countries as it reduces the distance that exists geographically. Finally, H.E. Linteau underlined that Dubai is already a select destination as a regional headquarters to many Canadian businesses and, in building upon the strong bilateral economic partnership, expects to strengthen collaboration in the lead up to Expo 2020 Dubai.

H.E. Jean-Philippe Linteau, Consul General of Canada in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, United Arab Emirates said: “The UAE-Canada trade and investment relationship is growing quickly, especially in strategic areas such as energy, infrastructure and life sciences. Our two countries are committed to work together on the post-COVID economic recovery to build a resilient global economy.”

“There is tremendous potential for Canadian companies and their Dubai-based counterparts to collaborate in innovation-focused sectors, explore new avenues of cooperation and build long-lasting partnerships that create mutual benefits and economic growth,” said H.E. Hamad Buamim, President & CEO of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.