Officials during the meeting.

Business Bureau, Gulf Today

The Ajman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and a delegation from Russia reviewed the ways to enhance the cooperation in various sectors.

Abdullah Al Muwaiji, Chairman of Ajman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), received a Russian delegation from Belgorod city led by Sergey N Glagolev, Rector of Belgorod State Technological University and president of the local parliament of the city.

During the meeting, the two sides reviewed the ways to enhance the cooperation in various sectors.

The meeting then reviewed the most important opportunities available in the sectors of education, health and tourism, as well as the ways to enhance the partnership and cooperation between traders and businessmen from both countries. The attendees also stressed the importance of the cooperation and exchange of expertise in the field of engineering, in addition to the implementation of joint research and studies in several fields.

Among the attendees at the meeting were Abdullah Saeed Al Nuaimi, Board Member, Salem Al Suwaidi, Director General, and Nasser Al Dhafri, Executive Director of Communication and Member Support at Ajman Chamber, along with Yasir Al Lahham, Adviser to Belgorod State Technological University for Foreign Affairs, and Dr. Ali Habib, Head of Belgorod State University of Technology Branch.

At the beginning of the meeting, Al Muwaiji welcomed the Russian delegation and stressed the strong relations between the UAE and Russia.

The Ajman Chamber also introduced the delegation to the key elements provided by the emirate for the business environment, which translate keenness of the wise leadership to develop and promote all sectors, especially education and health.

From this, the opportunities for cooperation between Ajman and Belgorod city are expected to see much of growth.

For his part, Nasser Al Dhafri gave a briefing on the Ajman International Education and Training Exhibition, which will be held during the first quarter of next year 2020, inviting Belgorod State Technological University to participate in the exhibition to learn more about the educational sector in the country in general and Ajman in particular. It hosts a selection of higher education institutions from various countries, he added.

He continued, “The Emirate of Ajman, with the continued support of its wise leadership, currently has a group of leading universities and colleges which has made it a distinct educational destination for those willing to complete their university studies, so this can enhance the cooperation with Belgorod State Technological University.”

Meanwhile, Sergey N. Glagolev thanked the Ajman Chamber for the warm reception praising the great development which he touched during his current visit compared to his previous visit to the UAE. He also pointed out that the investment environment in general in the UAE is stimulating and renowned for its flexibility and facilitations. He further affirmed presence of many economic areas in which cooperation could be increased in the interest of all parties.

At the end of the meeting, the Chairman of Ajman Chamber stressed the need to exchange visits and participate in events and exhibitions organised by the two parties to benefit from the investment opportunities and strengthen partnership and cooperation between Ajman businessmen and Belgorod city. Al Muwaiji and Glagolev also exchanged shields and souvenirs.

Meanwhile as part of series of seminars organised by Ajman Chamber of commerce and Industry (ACCI), a panel discussion was organised under the theme “Challenges of the Retail Sector” to identify the most important sectors that contribute directly to the growth of the economy, and to explore the most important factors and elements that support the sector. It also seeks to address challenges facing it to come up with recommendations and proposals that support the retail sector and commercial activities in the emirate.

The panel was chaired by Abdullah Al Muwaiji, Chairman of Ajman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, while attended by Salem Al Suwaidi, Director General, Khawla Khalfan, Executive Director of Support Services Division and a number of the employees at the Chamber. During the meeting, Al Muwaiji stressed importance of the seminars organised by Ajman Chamber to discuss many key areas of the economic sector in general and to come up with constructive recommendations and proposals that enhance the services provided by the Ajman Chamber for the sector in the emirate.

The panel discussion stressed the importance of the retail sector as a major cornerstone of the emirate’s economy. This is because the output of wholesale and retail trade reached Dhs2.395 billion in 2018 compared to Dhs2.345 billion in 2017. While the contribution of the wholesale and retail trade sector to the GDP of the Emirate of Ajman reached 12 per cent in 2018. Moreover, the number of retail stores reached 3,540 in 2018 compared to 3,147 stores in 2017 with a growth of 12 per cent, the panel discussion confirmed.