Dubai Chamber hosts Prince Guillaume in effort to boost trade ties

 The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted a high-level delegation from Luxembourg headed by H.R.H. Prince Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg at its premises today as part of its efforts to strengthen trade ties with the European country.

The delegation from Luxembourg included H.R.H. Princess Stephanie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg; Etienne Schneider, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Economy, Minister of Internal Security, Minister of Defence; Carlo Thelen, Director-General of Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, and representatives from the country’s public and private sectors.

Hisham Al Shirawi, 2nd Vice Chairman of Dubai Chamber, and other senior officials from the chamber welcomed the delegation. Delegates participated in a seminar organised by Dubai Chamber and attended by business leaders from the UAE and Luxembourg. The event provided an overview of Luxembourg’s economy and business environment. It also identified synergies and areas of cooperation between the two countries.

During his opening remarks, Prince Guillaume highlighted the many synergies that the UAE shares with Luxembourg such as its well-diversified and open economy that is always welcoming of new opportunities. He described Luxembourg as an excellent gateway for distributing products in Europe, as well as a leading investment hub for regional and multinational corporations.

Al Shirawi explained that Dubai and Luxembourg have enjoyed a strong relationship over the years, with bilateral non-oil trade growing steadily in recent years, reaching US$94 million in 2016.

He emphasised the need to expand trade and investment ties further, especially within the areas of Islamic finance, ICT, fintech, and logistics, satellite technology, and cybersecurity.

Dubai Chamber’s 2nd Vice Chairman said the emirate is an ideal partner for Luxembourg as a re-export hub with its strong links across the Middle East, Africa, and South East Asia, which can offer plenty of incentives and advantages to Luxembourg-based companies.

Etienne Schneider explained that Dubai’s position as a thriving business hub for the Middle East region is something that Luxembourg is looking to achieve in Europe. He said that shared values of openness and flexibility have enabled Luxembourg and the UAE to forge strong political and economic ties over the years.

According to Schneider, Luxembourg has become a leading regional hub for information and communication technologies, and intercontinental logistics, adding that the country has recently enhanced its cooperation with the UAE in new areas such as space technology and Islamic finance.

Following the seminar and meeting, more than 110 business-to-business meetings were held where businesses leaders from Luxembourg and Dubai discussed prospects for future collaboration.