Dubai – Decypha: The UAE is the main and highest trading partner with Africa among the GCC countries, as about 80% of its imports from Africa, including food products and beverages, Vision reported.
The sectors in Africa that are attracting investments are various, yet focus tends to be on infrastructure and transportation, according to AME info.
Africa has been growing and becoming one of the most important emerging markets in the UAE. Its status is promising and not to be underestimated, Africa Business Pages says.
Mohamed Ben Rashid Al Maktoum, has chosen Africa as one of the most promising cooperative areas of the UAE during the upcoming years. The UAE recognized that Africa has been on the rise, hence, it collaborated with the African countries to enter new markets. In recent years, the cooperation between Africa and the UAE has become almost steady in terms of its growth.
The UAE is an important trading partner to Africa, the total merchandise between the two sides jumped from $5.6 billion in 2005 to $17.5 billion in 2014 in a strong sign of cooperation enhancement, Dr Charles Lopes, the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa at the level of UN Under Secretary-General said, Gulf News reported.
Lopes continued that this cooperation is not just limited to North Africa and has reached sub regions as well. The Investment Cooperation of Dubai, for instance, invested about $300 million in Nigeria in its cement company of Dangote with investments in Ethiopia and Mozambique as well.
The vast continent has 54 countries, with a variety of sectors for investments including tourism, telecommunications and real estate development.
An anonymous senior official said that the UAE has been actively attempting to not only diversify its economy, but also diversify its trades following the depressed oil prices that followed 2014, the national reported.
Abdullah Al Saleh, the undersecretary for foreign trade and industry at the Ministry of Economy, said that the recent reforms that have been undertaken by African countries were rather attractive to the UAE. He added that there is a significant potential for more investments in Kenya, Angola, Namibia and Tanzania.
The trade between the UAE and the COMESA economic bloc, largest economic bloc in Africa, has been on the rise in recent years as well. This bloc includes Burundi, Comors and he republic of Congo, along with 16 other member states. This cooperation is thought to positively impact the economy of both sides.
In 2014, the UAE emerged as a pivotal and core partner to the African continent, according to a report released by the Washington-based think tank notes, Emirates News Agency reported.
In line with its economic and humane approach, the UAE is seeking to contribute to the African economy in order for it to develop the cooperation and commercial trade, based on mutual benefit. Africa has the potential to grow and create jobs, according to ECSSR.
Africa has an abundance of mineral resources, and the UAE has a manufacturing sector that keeps on growing, African countries may turn into a key source of raw material to the UAE and the entire GCC region.
The two parties also actively cooperate in the field of food security, as Africa has plenty of water resources and arable lands. The UAE has already poured in several land reclamation projects.
The UAE’s two key carriers Etihad airways and Emirates airlines also now have direct flights to the vast majority of Africa’s capitals. That was of a major assistance, not only in the trade field, but also boosted the tourism sector.
However, investing in Africa, for many foreign investors, is usually linked with challenges. Africa has a rather poor infrastructure. Also, it is full with political uncertainty, instability in the currency and inappropriate problem-solving and dispute resolution, according to The National.
Gulf investors now comprehend the fact that each country in Africa should be dealt with separately and should have its own system of doing business and risk assessment.
Another challenge is access to the right information. Dubai chamber launched an app to that gives tips on African markets, according to Vision. The businessmen from the region and the world precise insights to expedite their entry to the African continent. It provides companies in Dubai with needed information for African businesses. This app also provides access to economic indicators for South Africa, Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana and Angola. The indicators cover key sectors, political outlook,foreign investment, trade among other aspects.
Several UAE’s companies are lining up to invest in the fastest-growing continent, including the telecom company of Etiisalat, and Jumeirah Group, the prominent hotels’ operator, the National reported.
The UAE realizes that the future of business is significantly located in Africa as it has investment opportunities in various sectors, UAE’s minister of economy Sultan Ben Saed Al-Mansour said in the opening speech at the third Africa Global Business Forum (AGBF) in Dubai.
He stressed that Africa is a critical source for the food security in the UAE in the future as they have searched around the world and found Africa the most suitable place due to its location and resources, Kaleej Times reported.
Al-Mansour went on to say that it is expected that tourists coming from Africa to Dubai is set to reach 1.5 million by 2020. Today, hundreds of thousands of African traders use Duabi and the UAE as a gateway to reach different parts of the world to transport their goods. This was supplemented by the modern airports, advanced airlines and sea ports.
All in all, the Dubai Chamber believes that the African continent is the fastest growing economy in the world, with the third of its member states seeing an increase in the annual Growth Domestic Product (GDP) by 7%, whereby the global world average is 3.7%, fin-24 explained.
In the UAE’s plan of diversification, diversifying its trading partners became inevitable. Its officials agree that commercial trading with Africa will keep on growing over the next years.
By Toqa Ezzeldin
