dutch minister is here to solidify uae-netherlands bilateral trade ties
After his first visit last May, HE Frank Heemskerk and his delegation call again at Dubai Chamber to promote water and energy technologies
HE Abdul Rahman Saif Al Ghurair, 1st Vice Chairman, Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry, today (Wednesday) received HE Frank Heemskerk, Netherlands Minister of Foreign Trade and his official trade delegation at Dubai Chamber as a follow-up to the latter’s visit last May to discuss ways to further strengthen UAE-Netherlands bilateral trade and investments.
Besides consolidating economic relations between the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) and the UAE on governmental and private business levels, another main objective of the visit this time was to promote innovative water technology and sustainable energy.
The meeting was also attended by representatives of Nakheel led by Dr. Rula Sadik, Director of Design and Planning, in addition to Dr. Ahmad Khayyat, CEO of Emaar, and three members of the Executive Council including Walid Tabanji, Director of Policy and Strategy Department, Najeeb Al Ali, Head of Projects Development Unit, and Firas Barazi, Advisor at Cpecial Projects. HE Kees van Spronsen, Consul General of the Netherlands in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, Marten van den Berg, Director General of Foreign Economic Relations Department, and a number of top officials from NFIA, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Trade, have also attended the meeting.
Al Ghurair welcomed the Dutch delegation and assured the visitors of all possible assistance that the Dubai Chamber is known for offering to business people from all over the world, especially the Dutch people who have always been a very active business partner and in supporting the local business community with quality services while also introducing them to the investment opportunities available in both countries.
Al Ghurair also pointed out Dubai Chamber’s crucial role in promoting Dubai as an international business hub besides serving its over 100,000 members for improving their businesses. He also stressed on the Chamber’s priorities in opening up new channels of communication with their overseas counterparts as also exploring and benefiting from the investment opportunities available worldwide.
Al Ghurair emphasized on Dubai’s position as one of the world’s fastest cities in economic development thanks to its open door policy and the efficiency of the emirate’s ambitious strategic plans adopted by the visionary leadership which brings the country at par with the most advanced countries of the world and makes it one of the most attractive centers for foreign investments.
“Dubai does not impose any taxes on investors, instead the Government supports and facilitates foreign investment which has largely helped in increasing the emirate’s foreign non-oil trade, and with the Netherlands it reached up to AED 5,530,687,057 in 2006. “We believe this visit would enhance our bilateral trade volumes, benefiting from the efforts paid by the Dutch Business Council which was established in the UAE in 1997, and its cooperation with Dubai Chamber and other commercial organisations in the UAE, to help promote Dutch products and attract more Dutch investments to the region,” added Al Ghurair.
HE Frank Heemskerk, Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade, expressed his happiness in returning to Dubai in order to further strengthen economic and investment relations with the emirate and to enhance bilateral trade with Dubai’s business community, which prompted his Government to open a Dutch Investment Office in Dubai last May. He said “Today I will officially open a NFIA office in Dubai. We will inform through this office possible investors from the UAE and from the whole GCC region on the investment climate in the Netherlands. With a small economy, the Netherlands relies on foreign trade’; internationalisation and free trade are good for our both countries”.
Last May, the UAE signed with the Netherlands a mutual agreement to avoid double taxation.
The Netherlands is famed with its natural resources such as natural gas and oil. The country’s GDP reached $662.8 bullion in 2006, recording a GDP annual rate of growth by 3%. Services sector represent 73.6% of the Netherlands’ GDP, while the industry sector represents 24.4% and agriculture sector by 2.1%.
The Netherlands is the world’s ninth largest exporting country and the fifth largest source of direct investments. It is also one of the world’s largest agricultural exporters in value terms. The Dutch economy is heavily reliant on foreign trade, mainly the services sector. The Netherlands ranks the sixth position among the latest global rankings for the best business environments.
