Dr Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, highlighted the solid bilateral economic ties between the UAE and Montenegro, noting that the two countries have a distinguished partnership covering economic, commercial, cultural and tourism areas, supported by their leaderships.

This came during his meeting with Jakov Milatovi, Minister of Economic Development of Montenegro, which was held at the headquarters of the ministry in Dubai.

During the meeting, the sides agreed to strengthen their collaboration in the fields of trade, investment, agriculture, renewable energy, transport, entrepreneurship, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), innovation, sciences, creative industries and tourism. They also decided to establish a joint business council.

The sides also expressed their keenness to enhance trade and diversify their economic collaboration, highlighting the importance of increasing visits of official and commercial delegations and creating business and investment opportunities.

Al Zeyoudi presented key trade indicators between the two countries, noting that UAE’s exports to Montenegro in the same year witnessed a 110 per cent increase, and in 2020, the total value of their trade was over $31.3 million, making the UAE Montenegro’s largest trade partner in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

He also elaborated on the UAE’s efforts to accelerate recovery through a general economic plan managed by the Ministry of Economy and its local and international partners.

Milatovi highlighted the profound ties between the two countries and their keenness to establish a joint business council to boost their economic partnership, as well as his admiration for the UAE’s successful economic model and overall development.

The sides agreed to encourage business owners and entrepreneurs from both countries to explore opportunities in their markets, as well as exchange expertise, draft a programme to increase their trade in agricultural and food products. They also agreed to encourage public and private entities in their countries to explore investment opportunities, especially in the fields of land and maritime transport and logistics.

Business Online Presence: Members of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry can now access the ‘Business Online Presence’ dashboard to set and verify their business profiles across single or multiple locations on Google Search and Maps.

Those online profiles feature essential business details, such as opening hours, contact details, address and photos. Businesses can also post timely offers and promotional packages during special seasons, it was announced during a webinar organised jointly by Dubai Chamber and Google, where the two teamed-up to launch this digital solution.

The initiative will help businesses in the UAE manage their online presence, maximise visibility and attract new customers. Registered businesses can also access the ‘Maharat Min Google’ training programme to learn the digital skills needed to grow online.

Hamad Buamim, President and CEO of Dubai Chamber, described the dashboard as a versatile and reliable tool that helps SMEs seamlessly manage their online presence, reputation, and activities from a single platform. “The platform is designed around the needs of local businesses and helps them easily reach new categories of customers who are actively seeking out specific services and products.”

Buamim added that the initiative supports the Chamber’s ongoing efforts to accelerate digital transformation of business in Dubai, expand the emirate’s digital economy and enhance its economic competitiveness on a global level.

Lino Cattaruzzi, Google’s Managing Director in MENA, commented, “The pandemic has truly exposed the critical role digital tools can play in a business’ ability to navigate through challenging times - with a particular impact in certain sectors like retail and tourism. For this reason, we are very happy to continue our collaboration with the Dubai Chamber which has started in 2018, and together offer a tangible solution that helps SMEs across the country grow their online presence and learn digital skills to successfully scale their businesses and reach more customers.”

Separately, the Dubai free zone DMCC has welcomed 1,230 new member companies in the first half of 2021, the best 6-month performance since 2013.

This builds on free zone’s strong performance in 2020, during which it attracted 2,025 new businesses supported by DMCC’s relief packages offered during the global pandemic.

“We have carried over the record-breaking performance of 2020 into 2021, with another set of very strong achievements across all our pillars,” said Ahmed bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and CEO of DMCC. “The numbers speak for themselves and following the recent launch of the DMCC Crypto Centre, which has generated significant interest from the global crypto community, the second half of the year looks even more promising.

WAM