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•Dubai Chamber organised forum is attended by a high-profile delegation headed by the country's Minister of Economy
•Al Shirawi:The two sides can take their economic cooperation to a higher level
•EvaldasGustas: Lithuania's accession to Eurozone this year will open up a gate of opportunities for FDIs
Dubai - H.E. Evaldas Gustas, Lithuania Minister of Economy, called upon UAE investors to benefit from the lucrative business environment prevailing in his country and to establish joint economic partnerships with businesses in his country's vital economic sectors.
He also pointed to the existence of joint cooperation opportunities between the UAE and Lithuanian companies, stressing that his country's investors were seriously seeking partnerships with their UAE counterparts.
H.E. Gustas stressed that Lithuania is one of the fastest growing economies in the EU region and the country is going through positive changes due to its accession to Eurozone this year which opens up a gate of opportunities for FDIs and will bring economic benefits to the country while offering additional incentives to foreign investors through its expertise and a highly-educated workforce.
The Lithuania Minister of Economywas speaking at theUAE-Lithuania Business Forum held in cooperation with "Enterprise Lithuania", the investment promotion wing of the Lithuanian Ministry of Economyat the Chamber head office on Wednesday.
The meeting was attended by H.E. Abdul Rahman Saif Al Ghurair, Chairman, H.E. Hisham Al Shirawi, 2nd Vice-Chairman, Dubai Chamber, and over 50 representatives of UAE and Lithuanian companies.
In his welcome address, Al Shirawiurged businesses in the UAE and Lithuania to seek new joint partnerships and to develop strong bilateral cooperation between their two sides.
The Second Vice-Chairman of Dubai Chamber also stressed on Dubai's strategic location and its easy connectivity with the region, Southeast Asia and Africa which he said can help Lithuanian businesses to reach out to their potential clients in these countries.
H.E. Al Shirawi also highlightedthe emirate's modern infrastructure, attractive business climate and unlimited government support, which he said provides an ideal destination for global businesses to set up shop in Dubai.
He further stressed that Dubai's leading drivers of economic growth including trade, tourism, logistics and financial services hold great potential for investment while the two countries' strategic locations as gateways to their respective regions will help boost their economic relations.
H.E. Al Shirawi also informed that Lithuania occupies 135th rank on Dubai's list of trading partners as the emirate's non-oil trade with the country during 2013valued AED 202 million while there are 19 Lithuanian companies currently among Dubai Chamber members, and this highlights the need to enhance the two sides' cooperation to achieve better trade relations, he said.
Highlighting the areas of cooperation, H.E. Al Shirawi stated that Dubai Chamber would like to establish stronger business cooperation in key sectors, including textiles, foodstuff, manufacturing, airports and ICT.
He assured the visiting delegation of Dubai Chamber's commitment to offer all help to Lithuanian companies in setting up base in Dubai while taking the two countries' bilateral ties to a higher level.
On his part, Mantas Nocius, General Manager, Enterprise Lithuania, presented his country's economic performance which he said recorded 2.9% GDP growth in 2014 while the European Commission forecasts his country's export growth to be second largest growth in EU countries in 2015.
He also revealed that Lithuania recorded 2.9% GDP growth in 2014 while the country ranked 17th at the 2013 World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index up from its 27th position in 2012 while pointing at the availability of highly-educated workforce in the services sector.
Nocius highlighted his country's strategic geographical location that connects the shipping lines and road transport between Russian and East Europeancountries with access to China, as well as competitive European cargo market and distribution centres.
On UAE-Lithuania bilateral trade, he informed that trade between UAE and Lithuania amounted to 24 million euros during the period January to November 2014with major import items including glassware and electrical equipment acquiring 22% of the export share.
He pointed to the importance of the laser industry which is a strong player in the global market with exports to more than 100 countries as Lithuania is first in the World Competitiveness yearbook rankings for ICTas he also listed the high performing sectors like lifesciences and biotechnology, engineering, transport and logistics, furniture, wood and food industries as well as healthcare.
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About Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Established in 1965, Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry is celebrating its milestone anniversary of 50 years empowering vision in Dubai's business community. A non-profit public entity, Dubai Chamber supports Dubai's vision as a global player by empowering businesses, providing innovative value added services and access to influential networks. Its mission is to represent, support and protect the interests of the business community in Dubai by creating a favourable business environment, supporting the development of business, and by promoting Dubai as an international business hub.
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© Press Release 2015
