Dubai – Mubasher: The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) is looking to raise AED 100 million ($27 million) to encourage trade and investment in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The DCCI is also planning to open its third office in Latin America, Dubai Chamber president and CEO told Arabian Business in an interview.
The chamber will allocate the funds in a 10-year period to test new methods of diversifying the emirate’s trading relationship with the region into new sectors, Hamad Buamim said.
“The trade and investment relationship between the UAE and the LAC region is on that is becoming progressively stronger, with Dubai Chamber as a key driver of this growth,” he said.
It is worth noting that Dubai Chamber already has two offices in the region; namely, in Brazil and Panama.
The DCCI’s third office in the region is set to be opened in Argentina soon, according to the UAE-based business news platform.
“Argentina remains one of Dubai’s top trading partners within Latin America,” Buamim noted, adding that “there is huge potential to expand the scope of Dubai-Argentina non-oil trade beyond the $186 million accounted for in the in the first nine months of 2018.”
He also said that both sides can benefit by collaborating on food security, tourism, logistics, and renewable energy, among other high-potential sectors and areas.
“It is clear that our efforts in Latin America are bearing fruit,” Buamim remarked.
He further noted that the UAE-Latin America ties are cementing due to shifting trade patterns and economic reforms in South America which made governments in the region “to open their economies to foreign investors and diversify their export markets.”
Dubai’s non-oil trade with Latin America jumped by 71% in 2017, recording AED 23.1 billion ($6.29 billion), compared to AED 13.5 billion ($3.68 billion) in 2010, according to Dubai Chamber statistics. Over 400 Latin American companies are currently registered with Dubai Chamber.
