• Meeting to be staged in Dubai for the first time
• Reaching out to the new African markets is an integral part of Dubai Chamber’s strategic plans

Dubai, UAE: One of Africa’s most important and influential investment forums – the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Investment Forum – will be hosted in Dubai under the Patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rahsid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minster of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Spearheaded by COMESA’s Regional Investment Agency – the investment promotion arm of COMESA – in partnership with Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry, this year’s forum is entitled ‘Dubai to Africa – Unlocking the Markets of the Future’. With strong interest already having been generated by the event, over 800 regional, global and African business leaders are expected to participate to discuss about investment, finance, logistics and trade issues involving COMESA and Dubai.

Scheduled to take place on March 23-24, 2011, Dubai Chamber has stepped up preparations for the event by holding a meeting with Dubai Government’s COMESA Committee Members, in which they discussed their involvement in the forum and their plans to make it a success.

Presided over by HE Hamad Buamim, Director General of Dubai Chamber, the meeting was attended by representatives of The Ruler’s Court, the Department of Economic Development, the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), Dubai Police, the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs-Dubai and The Media office-Government of Dubai.

COMESA Regional Investment Agency was established with an aim of driving Foreign Direct Investment or FDI into Africa’s largest economic block. Having successfully launched its Custom Union in 2009, COMESA continues on the road of regional integration by supporting the continuous creation of better investment conditions, making it an increasingly internationally competitive economic community. And following the recent financial crisis and fundamental shifts in global economic power, COMESA is today a strong and attractive destination for investment with its growing and diversifying economies.

Dubai Chamber’s Director General said the staging of an event of this significance in Dubai is a key pillar in the Chamber’s strategy of reaching out to the new markets of Africa. It also serves to showcase how Dubai’s strength as an international business hub can be leveraged for the benefit of all parties concerned.

In order to highlight such matters, panel discussions such as ‘COMESA-Dubai: The New Business Partnership’ and ‘Dubai – A Gateway for Trade in Africa’ are to be conducted as part of the two-day forum.

“Dubai is ideally located to serve as a strategic international hub for business in and out of the COMESA region, hence the decision to hold the event here, where we can further showcase and reinforce that position, and also encourage investment into the region by addressing issues that are critical for local and international business,” Buamim explained.

“Furthermore, there is tremendous scope for COMESA members to benefit from Dubai business community’s wide and extensive experience in areas that are critical to the 19 member countries such as infrastructure development, agriculture, roadways and railways, logistics and supply chain management, aviation, and finance and banking.

”We will endeavour to identify the frameworks needed to enable growth and build a favourable business climate in the COMESA region and Africa by means of greater cooperation and complete regional integration. We also hope to take major strides in the development of a comprehensive set of regulatory reforms that will enable Dubai businesses to consolidate their trade ties with member countries mainly from the South and East Africa regions,” he added.

COMESA, being the largest economic block in Africa, holds the key to the economic development of the region. It is expected to exceed the size of its market of 500 million consumers by the year 2015, and is all set to lead to higher and sustainable levels of economic growth that will provide unparalleled opportunities for investors from all over the world.

The 4th COMESA Investment Forum is specifically designed to promote dialogue and action between investors, business leaders and senior policy makers, to create the necessary framework and drive investment opportunities and growth in COMESA and Africa.

To deliver the opening remarks at the event are H.E. Sultan Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy; Sindiso Ngwenya, COMESA Secretary General; H.E. Abdulrahman Saif Al Ghurair, Chairman, Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry, UAE; and Hon. Minister Jabulile Mashwama, Swaziland Minister of Industry & Trade and Chairperson of COMESA Council of Ministers.

In the succeeding sessions, some of the speakers include Dr Mahmoud Mohieldin Managing Director, World Bank; H.E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qassimi, UAE Minister of Foreign Trade; Usman Ahmed, Managing Director, Corporate Banking, Barclays Africa; Sameer Al Ansari, CEO, SHUAA Capital, UAE; Lazarus A. Angbazo, President & CEO, GE East, Central & West Africa; Amadou Diallo, CEO of Africa & South Asia Pacific, DHL Global Forwarding, Africa; Giulia Di Tommaso, Director of External Affairs for Africa, Middle East and Turkey, Unilever; Ashish Thakkar, CEO, Mara Group, Uganda; Hon. Minister Welshman Ncube, Minister of Industry and Commerce, Zimbabwe; Hon. Peter Sinon, Minister of Investment, Natural Resources & Industry of Seychelles; and Nicholas Nesbitt, CEO, Kencall.

Dubai Chamber

Established in 1965, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry is a non-profit public entity, whose mission is to represent, support and protect the interests of the business community in Dubai by creating a favorable business environment, supporting the development of business, and by promoting Dubai as an international business hub

COMESA

COMESA’s member states include: Burundi, Comoros, D.R. Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is Africa’s largest economic block comprising a total of nineteen countries, with a population of over 430 million, and a combined GDP of over USD 447 Billion. Having successfully launched its Custom Union in 2009, COMESA continues on the road of regional integration by supporting the continuous creation of better investment conditions, making it an increasingly internationally competitive economic community.