Dubai FDI to build on growing investment inflows from US
Dubai Investment Development Agency (Dubai FDI) and Dubai Exports, both agencies of Dubai Economy, are heading to the US on a mission to draw focus on to the development strategies and policy initiatives transforming the emirate into a knowledge economy and innovation hub.
The Emirates Group, Dubai South, Dubai Multi Commodities Center (DMCC), Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DTCM) and Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Jafza) are also part of the delegation, which is supported by the UAE diplomatic missions in the US as well as the US-UAE Business Council.
The delegation will meet public and private sector representatives including senior government officials, corporate and business executives in Seattle and Portland during the five-day visit scheduled for Sept. 11-15. For Dubai FDI, this would be the fourth visit to the US in the last three years.
The mission aims to build on the growing bilateral engagement and highlight the Dubai advantage, particularly in connecting businesses to the emerging markets across the Middle East, Africa, Indian Subcontinent and the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) region. Dubai as an enabling hub for innovation-driven investments and entrepreneurship will also be a key message.
Fahad Al-Gergawi, CEO of Dubai FDI, said the global private sector generally and US investors particularly have responded enthusiastically to the ambitious infrastructure development and policy improvements such as the PublicPrivate Partnership Law in Dubai.
“Trends captured by our Dubai FDI Monitor over the first quarter of 2017 show that Dubai received 4.77 billion dirhams ($1.2 billion) in foreign direct investments, making it ninth globally in FDI receipts. The US was the topmost source country for both FDI capital and FDI projects to UAE, accounting for a share of 28.7 percent and 25 percent respectively, during the same period,” Al-Gergawi said.
Initiatives like the Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030, aimed to elevate Dubai into a global platform for knowledge-based, sustainable and innovation-focused industries, and infrastructure projects linked to the Expo 2020 would be of substantial interest to US enterprises and investors, added Al-Gergawi.
“Sixty-nine percent of FDI projects attracted to Dubai during the first quarter of 2017 involve high and medium technology and together, they account for 24.3 percent of the total FDI capital into Dubai. It’s indeed a clear indicator of Dubai’s credentials and potentials as a hub to develop and export new technologies,” he said.