The announcement was made during a business roundtable in Tallinn, Estonia, which was hosted by Dubai Chamber in cooperation with Enterprise Estonia and attended by a UAE delegation, as well as Estonian government and business leaders, Dubai Business Review writes.
The roundtable was organised as part of Dubai Chamber’s high-level roadshow to the Baltic states, which is taking place from 6th to11th May. The roadshow is exploring trade and investment opportunities in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and the delegation is joined by prominent businessmen representing leading companies in the UAE.
During the roundtable, Dubai Chamber officials welcomed the announcement, which, they said, would provide companies in Dubai with valuable insights on investment opportunities in the European country.
Commenting on the announcement, Majid Saif Al Ghurair, Chairman of Dubai Chamber, noted that Estonia is among the world’s most attractive hubs for Information and Communications Technology, ICT, smart city solutions and entrepreneurship. He described the Baltic country as a market of strategic importance which offers tremendous business potential to Dubai Chamber members and the wider business community in Dubai.
He revealed that Dubai’s non-oil trade with Estonia exceeded US$55 million in 2017, and explained that there is plenty of scope of bilateral trade in the future. He said that the roadshow to Estonia followed a recent trade mission to the Baltic states led by the UAE Ministry of Economy, and said that such efforts reflect the UAE’s strong commitment to strengthening its ties with countries in the region.
Al Ghurair revealed the chamber’s plans to organise a country focus briefing in Dubai soon which would aim to familiarise companies in the emirate with business opportunities in Estonia.
Hamad Buamim, President and CEO of Dubai Chamber, called for the launch of direct flights between Dubai and the Estonian capital of Tallinn, and said that such a development would build new bridges between UAE and Estonian companies. He added the chamber-led roadshow provided an ideal opportunity for UAE businessmen to learn about Estonia’s business environment and explore new growth prospects within the country’s ICT, tourism, healthcare and agricultural sectors.
Buamim revealed that the chamber is coordinating with Estonia’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications on efforts to double the number of Estonian companies in Dubai by 2019. He encouraged Estonian companies to participate in Expo 2020 and benefit from the unique advantages and opportunities that the mega event has to offer them.
For his part, Viljar Lubi, Deputy Secretary-General of Economic Development at Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications of Estonia, highlighted the many synergies shared by the UAE and Estonia and said that establishing direct air links between the two countries would be an important factor which would forge stronger bilateral ties.
The visiting delegation participated in a separate meeting with Urve Palo, Estonian Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology, who expressed her country’s intention to improve its relations with the UAE, as reflected in its decision to open an embassy in Abu Dhabi soon.