Source:Â www.ameinfo.com
HE Hamad Buamim, Director General, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry led the Chamber delegation to the ACCE Convention 2010 to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the USA recently. The American Chamber of Commerce Executives annual convention hosted by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce is the gathering of global chambers community who share information and update each other with their activities while strengthening bilateral relations with their American counterparts.
The recent visit also provided Dubai Chamber officials the opportunity to give a presentation on the economic progress of the Emirate and its business strategy and to catch up with a large number of American chamber officials who were in Dubai during the US-Dubai 2010: Executive Business Leaders Mission hosted by Dubai Chamber in March. The Chamber officials made the maximum use of the Convention to rally support for Dubai’s bid to host the 8th World Chambers Congress in the Emirate in 2013.
The ACCE Board Committee and Board of Directors meeting, the Chambers Roundtable, professional development workshops and networking dinners were attended by Dubai Chamber officials including Hassan Al Hashemi, Director, External Relations.
During his presentation, Buamim said that Dubai is one of the first cities in the world to see economic recovery from the debilitating global financial crisis as inflation was down 4.1% in 2009 compared to 11.3% in 2008, population growth and employment are up and the Emirate’s fiscal strength, its enduring fundamentals, successful diversification and unshakeable leadership make it a popular gateway to one of the largest and most lucrative emerging market blocks in the world.
“The visit is seen as an opportunity to enhance trade ties between Dubai and the US which is the fourth top-most trading partner of the Emirate and the ACCE Convention 2010 being the biggest annual chamber event in the US, Dubai got excellent exposure during the board meetings and the keynote session.”
Added Buamim: “It was nice to hear many of the ACCE delegates that visited Dubai in March talk about the Emirate and its infrastructural success achieved in a short span of time. The best compliment about the success of the Dubai visit came from ACCE Chairman-elect Casey A. Steinbacher, CCE Greater Durham (NC) Chamber of Commerce, who said that Dubai is a place that not only believes in getting bigger and better things done like the race course, hotel apartments etc but makes sure to meet the most intricate details according to the set goals and that the Americans and the Chambers may take a few tips from the Dubai example. ‘I think that Dubai is the hospitality centre of the world. There is no luxury hotel service and management anywhere like in Dubai,’ she said.”
Re-affirming the status of Dubai as a popular investment destination for American businessmen, Buamim informed that Dubai has not only established itself as an international trade and business hub but also as a lifestyle destination that is setting the pace for a brighter future. The world-class infrastructure including Dubai Metro, Burj Khalifa, airports, seaports logistics facilities and financial and healthcare services provided by the Emirate is unparallel in the world.
Said Buamim, “The Emirate is a melting pot of cultures with around 200 nationalities of the world working and living together as the Economist Intelligence Unit has ranked Dubai and its environs as offering the best quality of life in the Middle East and North Africa region while the Emirate as an excellent gateway to the region is in a better position to offer world-class services to the American investors.”
The Director General of Dubai Chamber informed that in the last one year Dubai Chamber delegations visited ACCE Annual Convention in Raleigh, North Carolina as well as Los Angeles and Las Vegas to explore new prospects for Dubai’s business community in the US and to enhance cooperation with the major American chambers of commerce on the sidelines of the Consumer Electronic Show and now this participation in the Milwaukee Convention will help cement the ties further.
On the sidelines of the Convention, the Dubai Chamber delegation also met Mick Fleming, President and CEO of ACCE and Vice-Chair of World Chambers Federation (WCF), Chris Mead, Senior Vice-President, ACCE, and Anthony Parkes, Director of WCF, ICC’s global network of chambers of commerce, who was in the Emirate last month for an inspection tour and follow-up to Dubai’s bid to host the 8th World Chambers Congress in 2013.
The US is Dubai’s fourth largest trading partner as Dubai’s non-oil trade with the country touched AED 46 billion at the end of 2009. There are around 1,000 US partnership companies including 109 US ownership companies operating in Dubai. The Emirate has built solid and close relations with official and commercial entities and Dubai is poised for an excellent trading relationship with the US in the long run.
