Opening ceremony held in the presence of several government leaders & international delegations from US, China, Brazil and investors from the US, India and UK

Winners of ‘Impact FDI Awards 2019’ honored

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, the 5th edition of Dubai Investment Week was inaugurated yesterday (Monday, September 30th, 2019). The event, organized by Dubai FDI, the investment development agency of Dubai Economy, is being held under the theme ‘Investing in the City of the Future’, with the participation of a number of government leaders and international delegations from US, China, Brazil and investors from the US, India and UK and executive leaders of global companies, entrepreneurs and investment experts, in addition to prominent speakers, and senior executives.

In his opening speech, H.E. Sami Al Qamzi, Director General, Dubai Economy, said, “Dubai has an economy based on openness with the world and on clear and well laid out strategic plans. Here in Dubai, we work hand in hand with the private sector to accomplish the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. His Highness’s 50-Year Charter, most recently, articulated his vision for the future as well as the course Dubai has adopted as an open market economy and a preferred destination for foreign investments. The Charter also encapsulates a range of balanced, integrated and flexible initiatives and policies that will support Dubai's sustainable growth and prosperity.”

“Under the leadership of His Highnesses Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai is keeping pace with investor expectations, innovations and emerging technologies. In recent years, a multitude of reliable international indicators have ranked Dubai at the forefront of regional and global economies across diverse disciplines.” Al Qamzi Added.

He added “Over the past five years Dubai has consistently remained among the most attractive cities for foreign direct investment, presenting a diversity of new investment opportunities in vital economic sectors, and emphasizing the resilience and sustainability of its economy amidst various shifts and challenges that have adversely affected FDI inflows globally.”

Al Qamzi talked about how Dubai Economy and its agencies strive to provide a unique investment environment that continues to make it easier to do business and offers broader prospects for investing in the future. Where Studies indicate that real GDP growth in Dubai will reach 2.1% in 2019, 3.8% in 2020 and 2.8% in 2021, boosting investor confidence further.

He added that the Dubai Investment Week 2019, that is held under the theme of 'Investing in the City of the Future' will showcase how Dubai has transformed the challenges faced by cities worldwide into new investment opportunities to foster growth, partnership and innovation. Dubai Economy, along with its agencies, is confidently taking the emirate into a new phase of sustainable growth, driven by innovation and productivity.

Al Qamzi Concluded “Along with a visionary leadership, the private sector's participation in the sustainable economic development of Dubai also plays a significant role in making the emirate the best place for global and emerging companies to grow and expand.”

Fahad Al Gergawi, CEO of Dubai FDI said, “Inspired by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who has  directed the adoption of innovative initiatives to boost sustainability and competitiveness of Dubai and become the city of the future.”

Al Gergawi added“ Under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, we are working to  invest in future transformations of cities and promote Dubai's growing role as a pivotal hub in the global economy, a gateway to regional growth markets and a smart and sustainable city globally.”

“Dubai has maintained its leading global position among the top 10 cities, by attracting FDI, with an increase of 139% during the first half of this year with a total of AED 46.6 billion. The Emirate attracted new investments over the past five years--a major achievement that underlines the diversity and readiness of the emirate's economy to employ capital, technology and talent  across a number of quality investments in future economic sectors that are at pace with the developments of the twenty-first century,” Al Gergawi added.

“Dubai surprised the world last year when it topped the list of the best investment destinations in the world, particularly in terms of the transfer of artificial intelligence and robotics and in investments in renewable energy. The emirate ranked fifth globally in Re-investments which is a clear sign of the confidence of the global investment community in the business environment in the UAE and Dubai.

The results of the first half of this year and the classification of Dubai among the top 3 FDI locations globally in terms of capital flows and foreign direct investment projects has underlined the role of the emirate in transforming the challenges of future cities into opportunities for growth, partnership and innovation, as a  future investment gateway.

Al Gergawi concluded “The Dubai Investment Week highlights the promising prospects for Dubai by identifying current and future investment opportunities and the positive developments in the emirate's investment environment. Dubai FDI  is proud to partner with a number of government entities and free zones to highlight the latest developments of strategic and sectoral investment opportunities, especially across government strategies and global trends to introduce the investor community to the strategic advantages of Dubai as a preferred global FDI destination.

At Dubai Investment Week, we look forward to showcasing Dubai's investment environment and its comprehensive, integrated and intelligent services that enhance the success, competitiveness and profitability of investment projects and strengthen the strategic partnership with the local and global investor community and readiness for the future.”

The agenda of the Dubai Investment Forum, which was held during the opening day of Dubai Investment Week, featured a presentation by the originator of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Henrik von Scheel that addressed the current year theme, ‘Investing in the City of the Future’ and the Industry 4.0 Applications, Von Scheel showcased the future challenges and opportunities.

H.E. Abdullah Al Saleh, the Undersecretary at the UAE Ministry of Economy, participated in panel discussions. He talked about the Investment Law, UAE’s economic policies and initiatives that contribute to enhancing the country's competitiveness on the global investment and trade landscape. Furthermore, H.E. Abdulla Mohammed Al Basti, Secretary General of the Executive Council spoke about the investment ecosystem in Dubai and the 100% Investment Law and the Golden Visa and how it elaborated on Dubai's economic path, diversity and sustainability, and Dubai’s plans in the next 10 years. In addition, H.E. Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of Department of Naturalization and Residency, spoke about the most important services and facilities provided by DNRD to Dubai’s investor community, and the initiatives undertaken by the Department to enhance the readiness of its operational teams to facilitate transactions for all visitors coming to the country from all over the world during EXPO 2020. He also talked about the recently introduced ‘Golden Visa’ residency system.

In addition, Dubai FDI signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the state of Tocantins, Brazil, in line with the agency’s commitment to partner with governments that support the growth and expansion of companies globally, and support Brazilian companies that consider Dubai a gateway to growth markets regionally and globally.

The winners of the ‘Impact FDI Awards 2019', awards presented to leading FDI projects, in recognition of their contribution’s impact to the future of Dubai’s sustainable economic development and prosperity, in six categories were honored for their contribution to Dubai’s sustainability and economic growth. SAP won the ‘Largest High Technology Project’ award, while Amazon emerged as the winner of the 'largest logistics project' category. ACWA Power International won the award for the ‘largest sustainability project,’ and Unilever Gulf won the award in the ‘largest re-investment project’ category. GE Aviation and Sims Recycling Solutions won the awards in the ‘largest priority sector project’ and ‘investment project with the highest impact’ categories respectively.

The Dubai Investment Forum included a fireside chat with His Excellency Nicola Caputo, Regional Councilor Dedicated for the Campania region, H.E highlighted the investment opportunities for Italian investors in Dubai. The forum also witnessed the Leaders dialogue with the participation of Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer of DIFC, who spoke about How is DIFC enabling new and existing companies to expand and the initiatives the centre is introducing to support investors journey, Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and CEO of DMCC, who explained why DMCC is successful, the future plans for the centre and the Dubai-China relations, and Cem Tarik Yusel, Managing Director-Unilever Gulf and VP Customer development MENA, Turkey, Russia and central of Asia, who spoke about the the collaboration with DEWA and innovation in supporting Unilever’s sustainability.

Dr. Raed Safadi, Chief Economic Advisor at Dubai Economy, delivered a keynote speech on Dubai's advantages and the FDI and future economic outlook.

At the end, the forum witnessed a spotlight session, attended by Saeed Al Marri, Deputy CEO of Dubai SME, Mohammed Lootah, Executive Director of Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection at Dubai Economy and Mohammed Al Kamali, Deputy CEO of Dubai Exports, the session which was moderated by Dr. Raed Safadi, Chief Economic Advisor at Dubai Economy, showcased how the services provided to the investor accelerate the success, growth and expansion of FDI.

Dubai Investment Week 2019 (DIW 2019) which is taking place from September 29 to October 3, is a global platform to discover growth opportunities and new investment opportunities in strategic and emerging economic sectors, build public-private partnerships and foster innovation.

DIW highlights, key drivers of future growth, recent developments in the business environment as well as regulations and economic incentives of interest to the investor community, entrepreneurs, experts and delegates from around the world.

© Press Release 2019

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