Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (DAFZA), one of the UAE’s leading free zones, has announced a new strategic partnership with Liaoning Chamber of Commerce UAE. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will increase collaboration between the two organizations to help expand bilateral trade and create new business and investment opportunities with Liaoning province.

The MoU was signed by Nasser Al Madani, Assistant Director General at DAFZA and Yewei Fan, President of Liaoning Chamber of Commerce UAE at a signing ceremony held in the Freezone.

As part of the agreement, DAFZA and Liaoning Chamber of Commerce UAE will hold regular visits and consultations and will encourage opening channels of communications, increasing knowledge and information exchange and maximising mutual support, which will increase investment and business opportunities. Participating at international investment events and conferences will also form another element of the partnership, which will help drive further cooperation.

Commenting on the agreement, Nasser Al Madani said “This is an important strategic partnership that will strengthen our alliance in a number of key areas including technology, innovation, cross-border E-commence, shipping and logistics. DAFZA will support companies referred by Liaoning Chamber of Commerce to exhibit their products and services at the freezone. We will assist them with establishing their business operations and advise them on how to strengthen their offering. This will support our objectives of attracting more foreign investment to Dubai and creating long-term sustainable economic development in the UAE.”

Yewei Fan added: “This MoU will enable us to encourage Chinese investors to set up their businesses at DAFZA across important sectors and industries. This will have a positive impact on growing bilateral trade between Liaoning and the UAE and we look forward to continued association and partnership.”

Two-way trade between the UAE and China crossed $35 billion last year. As such China and the Asian market in general continues to be major focus areas for DAFZA and the UAE. 17% of the number of companies at DAFZA are from Asia, as reported in the 2017 results.

DAFZA targets the Chinese market through a series of campaigns in a number of provinces as Shenzhen and Guangzhou which will start in April this year. The free zone has previously signed an MoU with China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone (GDFTZ) – Nansha Area of Guangzhou (Nansha FTZ).

DAFZA recently announced that it achieved a 25% growth in its registered companies in 2017. The freezone contributed 7% of Dubai’s non-oil trade, representing 18% of total free zones trade within Dubai according to official statistics. The results marked the success of its ongoing initiatives focused on increasing foreign direct investment into Dubai, supporting the nation’s economic diversification and UAE Vision 2021.