The delegation of businessmen who are part of the Dubai Mission of the Center for the Study of Economic and Social Reality (Ceres) participated this Wednesday in the first day of the Emirates – Latin America Global Business Forum: a mega commercial event organized by the Chamber of Commerce of Dubai at the World Expo.
Prominent exhibitors from the Emirati, Latin America and the Caribbean offered their views on the enormous relevance of the existing relationship and saw the post-pandemic scenario with very good prospects.
This business forum provides an unbeatable opportunity for businessmen and government officials to network for future business deals or investments. In that sense, after the first exhibitions, contacts multiplied throughout the fair, which is expected to bear fruit in the future.
“I take such a bundle of cards after the first day of rounds, very interesting”, commented one of the Uruguayans who participate in the Dubai Mission. In the previous days we had already been warned that for the Emiratis, trust and the way to generate that trust is fundamental.
“You have to come once, twice and even more times before sealing a deal. That’s how it works. And it’s OK. Once they trust it is until the end”, narrated another businessman who already has experience with businessmen from Dubai.
Leo Barizoni
The event is sponsored by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai. On this occasion, it brings together heads of state – the event opened with remarks by teleconference from the President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro – ministers, government officials, prominent business leaders and industry experts. It seeks to reflect and explore new opportunities for commercial cooperation and generate environments of trust.
The day began with the words of the president of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce Hamad Buamim, who provided specific numbers of the amount of UAE investments in Latin America. A figure that –they agreed– has enormous potential to continue growing.
The data is compelling. Between 2016 and 2021, the UAE accounted for 77% of the investments of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the Latin American markets. Neighboring Saudi Arabia and Qatar respectively accounted for 22% and 1% of the investments.
The report, titled “Cultivating Ties: Deepening Trade and Investment Between Latin America and the Gulf Cooperation Council,” was published days before the meeting in Dubai. The document presented for the forum examines the evolution of the trade and investment relationship between Latin America and the GCC countries and identifies key areas of opportunity for the countries of the American continent and vice versa.
The results are based on a survey of 200 senior executives from all productive sectors in Latin America, conducted between May and July 2021. Brazil represents 42% of Latin American sales to the GCC, it is the largest producer and exporter of meat world halal.
Then, several exhibitors from various Latin American countries presented their countries as attractive destinations for Emirati investors. Different stories were heard, but all convinced of the enormous potential of participating in this type of face-to-face forums.
The Uruguayan Foreign Ministry has been working for years to facilitate business between Uruguay and the United Arab Emirates. Last year, the Agreement for the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments between Uruguay and the United Arab Emirates entered into force.
Leo Barizoni
This is added to the current agreement to avoid double taxation and prevent tax evasion in matters of Income and Capital Tax, which was approved in 2016. Also to the visa exemption signed in 2018, which formalizes the free movement of citizens between the two countries.
On the side of the Emiratis, the post-pandemic period is considered as one full of opportunities to relaunch the commercial relationship between the two regions and step on the accelerator of possible cooperation. They encourage public-private cooperation to obtain greater negotiating power and the ability to be attractive for possible investments.
Without a doubt, the food market, applied technology, metals, infrastructure, finance, tourism and logistics are attractive for the commercial relationship that is sought to be encouraged. Throughout the day there were numerous exhibitions from various sectors of the Latin American economy. As a whole, they provided a very complete mosaic of experiences and reflections for the future, which were generally complemented by the vision of prominent representatives of the UAE.
For Uruguay, the engineer Alicia Alonsopérez, an expert in electronics, telecommunications and an outstanding innovator in the area related to food safety through digitalization, spoke.
Alonsopérez is the inventor of the Chipsafer platform that tracks and detects anomalies in the behavior of cattle in order to improve the health of the animals, lowering the operational costs of those who manage the farm. On the part of the Uruguayan government there were no speakers.
“Latin America is very strong in the food industry. Food security is one of the priorities of the UAE and the entire Gulf region. We believe that the food sector will continue to be a subject of agreements between both regions”, said the president of the Chamber of Commerce.
“The entire region of Latin America and the Caribbean has been undergoing a series of positive changes in recent times, which we believe will unleash many potential businesses for companies in the region,” he added.
