Day: September 12, 2021

VIENNA, Margarete Schramböck, Austria’s Minister of Digital and Economic Affairs, has said that Expo 2020 Dubai paves the way for opening new markets, enhances international cooperation, and provides the opportunity to highlight the quality of research and development of Austrian innovations.

On the occasion of the approaching inauguration of Expo 2020, the minister stated that Austria’s participation focuses on presenting future visions, concepts and technologies that promote living together in an increasingly intertwined world.

She stressed that Austria upholds – with its international-oriented startups – the spirit of innovation and technical knowledge, and that its participation in the Dubai Expo aims to offer useful and meaningful solutions and products.

For his part, Harald Mahrer, President of Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, highlighted the importance of Expo 2020 Dubai in strengthening Austria’s communication with other countries at the international level as well as developing the country’s economy.

The Austrian pavilion participating in the exhibition is set to present projects and innovations in various fields, designed and developed by research institutions and companies that have cooperated with universities and technical colleges, and have succeeded in achieving accomplishments that have a positive impact on the environment and climate.

The pavilion, under the theme, “Innovation Towers,” will showcase 53 selected innovations in many areas while highlighting the contributions of Austrian scientists, companies and research institutes to shaping a positive and innovative future in smart cities, the circular economy, renewable energy, digital technology, health and life sciences.

From 1st October 2021 to 31st March 2022, Expo 2020 Dubai will welcome 191 countries and millions of visitors, inviting everyone to join the making of a new world through a six-month celebration of innovation, culture, creativity and human progress.

Source: Emirates News Agency

MOSCOW, The Emirate of Sharjah’s trade mission to Russia, headed by the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and represented by the Sharjah Exports Development Centre (SEDC), saw the organisation of several activities as part of the Sharjah Week in Russia.

This includes a meeting held at the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry between Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, SCCI Chairman, and Sorin Oganisovich Vardanyan, Vice President of the Moscow Chamber for International Relations, to discuss areas of cooperation and coordination and investment opportunities available in different economic sectors.

During the meeting, the two sides highlighted the services provided by each chamber to its members, stressing the importance of exchanging visits between commercial delegations. They also discussed the possibility of cooperation between the two chambers to organise a trade mission from Moscow to Sharjah in the coming period.

As part of the mission works in Moscow, the SEDC organised at the Moscow Chamber an expanded business meeting between the representatives of the Emirati companies with their Russian counterparts in various economic sectors.

This was followed by a visit to the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, where Abdullah Sultan Al Owais met Sergey Nosov, Director of the Department of Asian, African and Latin American Affairs in the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.

During the meeting, Al Owais said that the SCCI’s strategy of foreign relations is built on organising and leading trade missions, underlining the importance of the current mission in enhancing direct communication and learning closely about fields of cooperation in various economic sectors.

Al Owais added, “The mission also represents a new gateway for several investment opportunities that serve both business communities, increase exports the volume of trade exchange between the cities.”

He said that the SCCI has distinguished partnerships with many Russian Chambers of Commerce and Russian government bodies, expressing his hope that these relations will enhance the joint efforts to take advantage of the rewarding investment opportunities in the industrial, commercial, and other sectors.

For his part, Nosov lauded the efforts of SCCI in organising the mission, adding that the Russian government, represented by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, is ready to provide all means of support to encourage cooperation between the business communities in both countries.

Nosov indicated that his country’s participation in Expo 2020 Dubai represents an important opportunity to bring Russian businessmen closer to the reality of commercial and industrial activity in the Emirate of Sharjah and hold direct business meetings with their counterparts.

He said it’s important for Russian companies to take advantage of Sharjah’s strategic location, its services and logistical components, as well as air and seaports, in entering other regional markets.

The Chamber’s mission headed by Abdullah Sultan Al Owais also visited the Department of Foreign Economic Affairs and International Relations in the Moscow government, during which they met with Vyacheslav Monilov, Head of International Relations and Protocol.

The visit included presentations on the Emirate of Sharjah and the city of Moscow about the economic, social, cultural, and tourism aspects.

The two sides discussed the importance of cooperation to find ways to support the products of SMEs owners. They also discussed the possibility of organising Moscow Day in Sharjah as an economic and cultural event sponsored by the Sharjah Chamber during Russia’s participation in Expo 2020 Dubai.

The SCCI Chairman held another meeting with Dmitry Prokorenkov, Director of Overseas Network Development at the Russian Export Center, during which the two sides discussed areas of joint cooperation in promoting trade exchanges with the Russian Export Center.

For his part, Prokorenkov expressed his country’s willingness to organise exhibitions and trade missions to the Emirate of Sharjah and to cooperate with the SCCI on the establishment of joint events that enhance trade exchanges and strengthen the presence of Russian products in the UAE markets.

He underlined that the Russian Export Center is keen to consolidate relations with the Sharjah Export Development Center and collaborate in establishing tangible projects that cater to the aspirations of both sides.

The last stop of the SCCI trade mission will be in Saint Petersburg. The mission schedule there includes meetings and a forum during which the Sharjah Chamber and the participating local private sector companies will make presentations on the advantages offered by the Emirate of Sharjah for foreign investors and businessmen, most importantly the encouraging and promising investment climate.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has won 11 trophies at the prestigious Globee Business Awards in San Francisco, USA.

As part of the 13th Annual Golden Bridge Business and Innovation Awards, DEWA earned four awards, two gold and two silver, as well as seven other awards at the 8th Annual 2021 Customer Sales and Service World Awards, including the Grand Globee, four gold, one silver and one bronze awards.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of DEWA, expressed his pleasure with this recognition, which underlines DEWA’s excellence and its continuous efforts to advance the utility sector by adopting innovation as a solid organisational approach.

“At DEWA, we work in line with the vision and directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to improve the services of Dubai Government so that it implements today what other cities will be implementing a decade later. The awards DEWA received at Globee Business Awards underline its excellence and global competitiveness, as well as its tireless endeavours to chart a new future for service utilities around the world. This can be achieved by adopting innovation and making it a pivotal element in continuous development, providing a motivational work environment that encourages employees to be creative, as well as using the latest technologies to provide electricity and water services according to the highest standards of availability, reliability and efficiency. This enhances the happiness of customers and society in general, in line with the UAE Centennial 2071, which aims to make the UAE the world’s leading nation by its centennial in 2071,” said Al Tayer.

As part of the 13th Annual Golden Bridge Business and Innovation Awards, DEWA won the gold award in the Achievements in User Experience category for its Innovation Experience initiative, which aims to provide a new experience for DEWA employees using the products and services of the Innovation and The Future division in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness. DEWA was also awarded a gold award in the Aggregation Platform category for its Future Signals Catalogue, which enables employees to identify the signals of the future to turn them into initiatives to shape the future.

Additionally, DEWA won gold in the Customer Service Training or Coaching Programme of the Year category for its Customer Happiness Pioneers Programme. It also won a silver award for Best New Product or Service for Customer Service for its Rammas virtual employee, and another silver award in the Customer Service and Support category for transforming traditional customer happiness centres into self-service centres during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs, and Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, held a meeting at the Ministry’s headquarters in Dubai with Betty Maina, Cabinet Secretary of Kenya’s Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and Enterprise Development.

The meeting explored the prospects of economic and investment cooperation between their countries and ways to enhance their relations, resulting in a number of plans to strengthen UAE-Kenya economic ties that serve to facilitate new partnerships between the business communities in both countries.

The sides discussed boosting efforts to sign an economic, trade and technical cooperation agreement between their governments and forming a joint economic committee to facilitate the formulation of action plans and frameworks for cooperation and exchanging expertise in the coming years, with a special focus on agriculture, food production, processing industries, infrastructure, technology, digitisation and renewable energy.

UAE-Kenya trade relations saw considerable growth in the past period with non-oil trade valued at around AED 7 billion in 2020, indicating the growing cooperation between the two countries.

Dr. Al Falasi said, “We are collaborating with Kenya to develop a more efficient approach to create new opportunities across the entrepreneurship and SMEs sector, to drive its growth and enable it to expand into international markets. We call on all UAE- and Kenya-based companies to leverage these opportunities and incentives to advance our bilateral economic relations.”

For his part, the UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade explained the UAE’s investments in Kenya cover vital sectors, such as IT, logistics, retail, leisure, healthcare and mining, at a value of AED 11 billion, while Kenyan investments in the UAE totalled AED 291 million.

Dr. Al Zeyoudi said invited entrepreneurs and investors to participate in Expo 2020 Dubai, and showcased the UAE’s ambitious Fifty Economy Plan, which aims to double the UAE’s GDP by 2030.

Maina underscored the strong trade relations between her country and the UAE, and the growth opportunities they entail, highlighting the Kenyan government’s keenness to collaborate with the UAE to explore new avenues to expand their cooperation.

We are looking forward to ensure a fruitful participation in Expo 2020 Dubai, and strengthen our ties with the UAE through programmes and plans across the trade, tourism, entrepreneurship, innovation, food security and industrial sectors, she explained, noting that their plans to develop a framework to establish a Kenyan-Emirati business council and enhance collaborations between their chambers of commerce.

Source: Emirates News Agency

ABU DHABI, Nasser bin Thani Al Hamli, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, has commended the forward-thinking vision adopted by the UAE leaders to get more Emiratis aboard the private sector as part of the Projects of the 50, a series of groundbreaking plans to drive the UAE’s economic growth.

The minister thanked President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, for their unlimited support for Emirati citizens as manifested through the second set of the Projects of the 50.

He expressed confidence that the projects will achieve the desired final outcome under the follow-up and directives of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, the Chairman of the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council, and H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Vice Chairman of the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council.

“The second set of the Projects of the 50 represents an integrated methodology premised to accelerate investing in Emirati human capital and boosting their competitiveness,” the minister said citing the disruptive employment, entrepreneurship and training programmes the second set of the Projects of the 50 features coupled with family support schemes for Emiratis working at the private sector.

“These projects pave the way for Emirati citizens to come aboard the private sector in line with a well thought-out strategy to boost competitiveness of this sector in line with a strategic partnership between the government and the private sector.

He called upon the UAE citizens to seize the opportunities up for grabs for them to join the private sector and enjoy the unprecedented incentives provided to those working in this vital sector to the domestic economy.

Source: Emirates News Agency

SHARJAH, With the start of the Big Five Show, the Mena region’s largest building and construction show, which takes place from September 12-15 at the Dubai World Trade Center, the Hamriyah Free Zone Authority (HFZA) stand is attracting a large number of investors who expressed their willingness to visit the Zone to get acquainted with the opportunities and advantages available.

HFZA’s participation in this mega event reflects its keenness to be an active element in the various economic events and activities held nationwide, in order to promote the services and privileges it provides to businessmen and investors.

Additionally, being a part of such a global event paves the road for communication with local and foreign economic actors and provides them with comprehensive information about the Authority and the many strategic advantages of Sharjah.

The participation also aims to shed light on the role of Sharjah in the economic and urban development fields, since it is one of the key hubs of the construction sector projects taking place on the state’s land.

HFZA intends to leverage this opportunity to unveil its latest updates, including the ready-to-use plots of land and warehouses, the advanced infrastructure, and the spaces befitting all industries related to the building and construction sector.

The Hamriyah Free Zone also provides highly efficient logistics services, a wide range of products to meet the needs of different companies, and an integrated business system that provides all services under one roof, including administrative and licensing services and a global business community.

During its participation, the Hamriyah is set to announce its latest projects which aim to accommodate the increasing influx of major international and multinational companies wishing to build a solid presence within the regional markets.

Over 1200 exhibitors from 50 countries are taking part in the event. The Hamriyah Free Zone has specially prepared a promotional program to highlight its investment opportunities.

In addition to offering industrial and commercial plots of land, HFZA, the second-largest industrial-free zone in the UAE, provides advanced infrastructure and modern facilities that strengthen external expansion plans for investors, especially in import and re-export to the world’s markets. It also provides countless competitive advantages, most notably a single-window operation that boosts the efficiency of performance and eases procedures of doing business, along with multiple tax exemptions, repatriation of capital and profits, full foreign ownership of the business, and quick access to regional and global markets.

Source: Emirates News Agency