Jafza Roadshows in Hamburg, Frankfurt set to boost US$1.9bn Jafza - Germany trade

DUBAI (WAM): Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), the premier Free Zone in the Middle East, whose non-oil trade with Germany totalled more than US$ 1.9 billion last year, evoked renewed interest among businesses in Germany seeking to leverage Dubai’s global connectivity and trade hub status to boost their exports and product offering. A Jafza team comprising Tariq bin Ghalaita, the Vice President of Sales and Abdulaziz Redha the Assistant Manager Sales, of the Europe Region and Mania Merrikhi, Project Manager, Marketing addressed seminars in Frankfurt and Hamburg to highlight the advantage of using Jafza as a base of operations for the Middle East and North Africa, as well as a gateway to the world markets, on the side-lines of Automechanika Frankfurt. With non-oil trade at around US$ 1.9 billion during 2013, Germany is Jafza’s number one trade partner in Europe. Over the past few years, there has been a steady increase in the number of companies that use Jafza as their base of operations in the Middle East. A rich line-up of speakers, including the former First Mayor of Hamburg Ole von Beust, and former Senator Reinhard Stuth gave the participants insight into Dubai’s business climate, the opportunities, and the benefits to German companies setting up there. Participants including influential business leaders in both the cities learnt about the facilities and services Jafza has to offer. Participants at the seminars showed tremendous interest in Dubai’s business environment, and sales team met with a number of multinational companies interested in locating their Middle East base of operations in Jafza. The unmatched logistics infrastructure, and the facilities and services available to Jafza customers are the key reasons these companies are looking to set up in Dubai. Among the features highlighted was Dubai’s unprecedented sea-land-air link, which allows the free movement of goods between Jebel Ali Free Zone, Jebel Ali Port, one of the busiest ports in the world, and Al Maktoum International Airport, which is designed to handle 12 million tonnes of freight, within a single customs bond. The Jafza Roadshow saw the active support of Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing in Frankfurt, and was successful in connecting with the German market, where there is increasing business focus on life sciences, healthcare, renewable energy, and fashion in addition to the traditional automotive, trade and logistics sectors. U.A.E. and Dubai play a key role in the German market, pushing Dubai and Jafza’s brand recognition to new highs. Currently, 250 companies of German origin have their Middle East base of operations in Jafza, including industry leaders, such as Bayer, Hellman, Kuhne + Nagel, Karcher, DHL, Daimler and Audi among others spanning 15 industry sectors, including Equipment and Machinery, Building Materials, Electronic and Electrical, Perfumes, Medicine and Beauty, Industrial Chemicals, Structural Steel Manufacturing, Motor vehicles and Motorcycles. – Emirates News Agency, WAM – http://www.wam.ae/en/news/economics/1395270388203.html