The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted a delegation of Chamber heads from the Northern Iraqi region of Kurdistan including Erbil, Duhok and Sulaimaniyah at the Chamber premises recently.

The visit, organized in association with flydubai, looked at enhancing trade cooperation between the UAE and Iraq and a smooth passage for business travelers from both the countries.

The Iraqi delegation headed by Dara Jaleel Khayat, Chairman of Erbil Chamber and Federation of Kurdistan Chambers, was received by HE Abdul Rahman Saif Al Ghurair, Chairman, Dubai Chamber, Major-General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of the Dubai General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs, and Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai.

In his welcome address, HE Abdul Rahman Saif Al Ghurair said that Dubai enjoys strong trade relationship with Iraq and this meeting will further help consolidate bilateral ties and open up new channels of cooperation between the two sides.

Al Ghurair stressed that Iraq ranked 16th on the list of Dubai's top trading partners in 2009 as the Emirate's non-oil trade including its exports and re-exports with the country exceeded AED 21 billion at the end of last year which shows a robust trading relationship existing between the two sides as there are currently 1,071 Iraqi companies operating under the membership of Dubai Chamber.

The Chairman of Dubai Chamber emphasized on the cooperation between flydubai and the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in providing all the facilities and support to the Iraqi business community looking to expand their business interests and competitiveness in the Emirate. He also stressed upon the Iraqi business community to take advantage of the excellent investment opportunities and world-class infrastructural, financial and logistics services offered by Dubai.

Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai, said:" Iraq is an important market for flydubai and we are pleased to do our part to help strengthen the relationship, as well as improve the opportunities for business, between the UAE and Kurdistan."

On his part Al Marri assured the visiting delegates of his Department's commitment to extend the necessary support to facilitate trade ties with the Iraqi investors. Al Marri pointed that that there are currently more than 30,000 Iraqi citizens working and living in Dubai, reiterating the attractive business environment of the Emirate and the easy Visa application procedures as additional reasons for Iraqi investors to live and work in Dubai

Dara Jaleel Khayat, Chairman of Erbil Chamber and Federation of Kurdistan Chambers informed that a number of business people from his region are very keen to attend a number of Dubai trade exhibitions as they consider the Emirate to be a real gateway to reach out to consumers based in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Far East as well as the Middle East region as they consider Dubai to be a safe haven to live and do business with the rest of the world.

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©Aknews