Sharjah to enhance economic relations, boost cooperation with Tunisia and US

The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) has separately received two high-ranking delegations from the Tunisian Consulate in Dubai and the Latin Chamber of Commerce in the US and discussed with them ways to boost economic relations and enhance mutual coordination.

The chamber and the two delegations have also explored avenues of enhancing mutual investments in various fields and agreed on the need to exchange business visits to improve their economic collaboration and reinforce their business partnerships.

Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman of the SCCI, received Yousif Bayoud, Director, Tunisian Commercial Trade office, and discussed with him mechanisms for bolstering economic cooperation and partnership between the two countries and how to further their business and investment collaboration. The meeting also touched on ways to develop new areas of commercial exchange and increase exports.

Additionally, both sides discussed the possibility of signing cooperation agreements, exchanging trade missions, and participating in exhibitions organised in both countries.

Al Owais called on the Tunisian Consulate in Dubai to encourage their country’s businessmen to visit Sharjah to learn about its economic opportunities, and take advantage of the emirate’s unique investment advantages and facilities offered across various economic sectors, adding that Sharjah has grown to become a vital regional hub for doing business and expanding in regional markets.

For his part, Yousif Bayoud, expressed his appreciation for the chamber’s ongoing efforts to deepen the bilateral business cooperation with Tunisia as well as for its key role in strengthening frameworks of cooperation and coordination to better serve the common goals and interests of both nations.

He stressed that Tunisia enjoys promising and attractive investment areas, especially in the agricultural, industrial, and food sectors, that are supported by encouraging economic legislation and qualified human cadres.

Meanwhile, Al Owais also received Joe Chi, President of the Latin Chamber of Commerce, US, and briefed him on Sharjah’s business environment and its privileges, as well as the advantages offered by the emirate to all investors and the most promising areas of investment.

Both sides have also discussed ways to promote their collaborations and exchange the best practices adopted by the Sharjah Chamber in the field of serving its members and affiliates and the areas of support the chamber provides to the local business community and investors in Sharjah.

Meanwhile the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) organised the Sharjah-German Business Forum last Wednesday to explore avenues of boosting commercial cooperation and new areas of investment.

The forum was held on the sidelines of a visit by a high-level business delegation from Germany to the chamber. The delegation comprised a large number of businessmen and representatives of major companies specialised in renewable energy, electricity, banking, healthcare, and information technology.

The chamber invited German industrial and commercial businesses to invest in Sharjah and leverage the emirate’s numerous advantages and promising investment opportunities offered to foreign businesses. It also urged German investors to increase their stake in the region’s market by setting up their businesses in Sharjah or engaging in projects with local businessmen, particularly in the UAE’s largest industrial cities and free zones, which offer facilities and competitive guarantees.

Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), and Johann Erich Wilms, Chairman of the German Near and Middle East Association, head of the German delegation, took part in the forum.

Speaking during the business meeting, Al Owais said that the volume of non-oil trade exchange between the UAE and Germany exceeded Dhs478 billion in the period from 2012 to 2021, with 89.5 per cent of the total trade exchange made up of imports, while exports accounted for 3.5 per cent of the total trade exchange, and re-exports made up the remaining 7 per cent.

The data also showed that the trade exchange between the two countries was made up of imports worth Dhs427.4 billion, while exports and re-exports contributed Dhs17.1 billion and Dhs33.4 billion, respectively. When compared to the end of 2020, the UAE-Germany trade exchange increased by 12 per cent, from Dhs31.5 billion to Dhs35.3 billion.

For his part, Johann Erich Wilms stressed that Sharjah has become an important destination for the German private sector, thanks to the diversity of investment opportunities available in the emirate.

The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) has participated in the 11th Arab-Hellenic Economic Forum, which was organised by the Arab-Hellenic Chamber in cooperation with the Union of Arab Chambers in Athens on October 25th-26th.