DUBAI: As part of the UAE delegation to Hungary seeking stronger economic, trade and investment cooperation with the central European country, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry discussed the prospects of organising a Hungaria Country Focus Briefing in Dubai next year to discuss mutual investment opportunities between the two countries.
At the successful conclusion of the delegation visit, headed by H.E. Sultan Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy, on Wednesday, H.E. Majid Saif Al Ghurair, Chairman, Dubai Chamber, had a series of meetings with top Hungarian Chamber and Government officials including Dr. Kiss Zoltan, Vice-President, Budapest Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
He also had two meetings with H.E. Ferenc Miklóssy, Vice-Chairman, Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Robert Esik, President, Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA) where they discussed enhancement of two-way trade between the two sides.
H.E. Al Ghurair informed that the UAE official delegation visit coming under the leadership of the UAE Minister of Economy helped build stronger economic ties between the two countries as this also complements the Chamber’s strategy of exploring promising Central and Eastern European markets for its members and to cooperate in the areas of agribusiness, education, and technology.
“Hungarian businesses can use Dubai as a base to reach out to over 2 billion consumers in the MENA region, Southeast Asia and Africa and to make the best use of the emirate’s strategic location as a tourism, retail and financial services destination offering modern infrastructural and financial services as well as unlimited government support to the private sector,” said H.E. Al Ghurair
With Dubai and the Hungarian entities’ common goals of supporting their members internationally by opening trade offices in different regions including Africa, Middle East, and Latin America, the Chairman of Dubai Chamber invited Hungarian chambers and Government officials to visit Dubai.
H.E. Al Ghurair also called upon the Hungarian officials to discuss opportunities of increasing trade exchange as well as reviewing the available investment opportunities in various sectors for the Emirati investors and businessmen.
He further stressed that Dubai and Hungary can jointly reinforce sector-specific synergies and explore mutual investment opportunities in tourism, especially medical tourism with mineral water treatments, infrastructure, sports projects, electronics manufacturing, technology and renewable energy as Hungary too enjoys a strategic location in Eastern Europe.
H.E. Al Ghurair informed that Dubai’s non-oil trade with Hungary in 2014 was AED 2.5 billion as the country ranked 60th on the list of Dubai’s top trading partners while there is tremendous scope for Hungarian and Dubai companies to work jointly in the areas of mutual interest.
The Chairman of Dubai Chamber also informed that the Chamber has hosted a Hungarian Parliamentary delegation in 2012 at its headquarters where the discussion focused on enhancing bilateral trade and investment opportunities between the two sides and this recent visit will further strengthen those discussions and help discover new areas of investments, he said.
On his part, Robert Esik, President, Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency, informed that last year, Hungary attracted 60 new projects worth 1.6 billion Euros. The country is focusing on Automotive Industry, Chemicals and Packaging, ICT, Healthcare Business and Pharmaceutical sectors. 75% of Hungary’s trade is with EU hence the country is looking to diversify and explore other markets, he said.
