United Arab Emirates and Montenegro strengthen their economic and tourism partnership

Dr Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, highlighted the strong bilateral economic relations between the UAE and Montenegro, noting that the two countries have a distinguished partnership covering economic, trade, cultural and tourism, supported by their leaders.

This happened during his meeting with Jakov Milatovi, Minister of Economic Development of Montenegro, held at the headquarters of the ministry in Dubai.

During the meeting, the parties agreed to strengthen their collaboration in the areas of trade, investment, agriculture, renewable energy, transport, entrepreneurship, small and medium enterprises (SMEs). , innovation, science, creative industries and tourism. They also decided to create a joint works council.

The parties also expressed their willingness to improve trade and diversify their economic collaboration, stressing the importance of increasing visits from official and trade delegations and creating business and investment opportunities.

Al Zeyoudi presented key trade indicators between the two countries, noting that the UAE’s exports to Montenegro in the same year saw an increase of 110% and that in 2020 the total value of their trade s ‘amounted to over $ 31.3 million, making the UAE Montenegro’s largest trading partner. in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

He also explained the UAE’s efforts to accelerate recovery through a general economic plan managed by the Ministry of Economy and its local and international partners.

Milatovi highlighted the deep ties between the two countries and their willingness to establish a joint works council to strengthen their economic partnership, as well as his admiration for the successful business model and overall development of the UAE.

The parties agreed to encourage business owners and entrepreneurs from both countries to explore opportunities in their markets, as well as to exchange expertise, to draft a program to increase their trade in agricultural and food products. They also agreed to encourage public and private entities in their country to explore investment opportunities, particularly in the areas of land and sea transport and logistics.

Online Business Presence: Members of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry can now access the ‘Business Online Presence’ dashboard to set and verify their business profiles on one or more locations on Google Search and Maps.

These online profiles contain essential business information, such as opening hours, contact details, address and photos. Businesses can also post timely promotional offers and packages during special seasons, it was announced during a webinar jointly hosted by Dubai Chamber and Google, where the two have teamed up to launch this digital solution. .

The initiative will help UAE businesses manage their online presence, maximize visibility and attract new customers. Registered companies can also access the “Maharat Min Google” training program to acquire the digital skills needed to grow online.

Hamad Buamim, President and CEO of the Dubai Chamber, described the dashboard as a versatile and reliable tool that helps SMEs to transparently manage their online presence, reputation and business from one platform. “The platform is designed around the needs of local businesses and helps them easily reach new categories of customers who are actively seeking specific products and services.”

Buamim added that the initiative supports the Chamber’s continued efforts to accelerate the digital transformation of businesses in Dubai, develop the emirate’s digital economy and improve its economic competitiveness globally.

Lino Cattaruzzi, Managing Director of Google in MENA, commented: “The pandemic has really highlighted the critical role that digital tools can play in a business’s ability to weather difficult times – with particular impact in certain sectors such as retail and tourism. For this reason, we are very happy to continue our collaboration with the Dubai Chamber, which started in 2018, and together to offer a tangible solution that helps SMEs across the country to develop their online presence and acquire digital skills to successfully grow their businesses and reach more customers. “

In addition, the Dubai DMCC free zone welcomed 1,230 new member companies in the first half of 2021, the best 6-month performance since 2013.

This builds on the strong performance of the FTZ in 2020, during which it attracted 2,025 new businesses supported by DMCC’s relief programs offered during the global pandemic.

“We have carried over the record-breaking performance from 2020 to 2021, with another round of very solid achievements across all of our pillars,” said Ahmed bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and CEO of DMCC. “The numbers speak for themselves and following the recent launch of the DMCC Crypto Center, which garnered great interest from the global crypto community, the second half of the year looks even more promising.

WAM