PRO Ecuador opens trade office in Dubai

PRO Ecuador, the trade and investment promotion organisation of Ecuador, is reinforcing its presence in the UAE with the official opening of its local office in Dubai.

The PRO Ecuador office in Al Nouf Tower in Port Saeed was inaugurated by His Excellency Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai. Senior officials including Engineer Saed Al Awadi, CEO of Dubai Exports, the export promotion agency of DED; Fahad Al Gergawi, CEO of Dubai FDI, the foreign investment office in DED, and Hussam Hassan, Head of the Ecuadorian Commercial Office in Dubai were also present on the occasion.

“The UAE has a strong economic engagement with South American countries with various markets continuously making inroads into the region. Ecuador is among the best-performing Latin economies and we are keen to support their new commercial trade office in Dubai as it will provide a solid platform for trade and information exchange with Ecuador,” Al Qamzi said.

“Ecuador being one of the leading economies in South America this partnership will help take our cooperation further towards utilising our respective countries as gateways for promoting exports. I’m optimistic that this MoU will generate more trade and open doors for our local companies to expand in Ecuador and vice versa,” Al Awadi said.

Meanwhile, Al Gergawi said that the partnership with PRO Ecuador will encourage investments from both Ecuador and UAE. “We will work closer with PRO Ecuador to develop trade linkages between the two economies as well as promote mutual Investment opportunities in various sectors,” Al Gergawi added.

The UAE is the 33rd commercial office for PRO Ecuador among similar offices in North & South America, Europe, Russia, Africa, Asia and Australia. During the office opening, PRO Ecuador also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dubai Exports and Dubai FDI.

According to Hassan, Ecuador is looking for new trade relations particularly in the emerging markets. “This region is a great place to invest in and with the UAE considered as the business hub for the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region, establishing an office here is very strategic. Dubai especially is globally recognised as a competitive business and financial hubs. Adding to this is its strategic location and connectivity to the world” he said.

PRO Ecuador has been working closely with local government agencies and the private sector in the UAE. The GCC is an important region for Ecuador and its presence in the UAE reaffirms a commitment to the development of business and new commercial opportunities for the country’s businesses, exporters and producers.

Hassan added, “We are glad to receive the excellent support from DED Group, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, along with other government offices in the UAE. The MoUs that we have signed with Dubai Exports and Dubai FDI aim to build and enhance trade and investment between the two countries.”Ecuador’s imports from the UAE grew by an average of 188 per cent from 2009 to 2011 while Ecuador’s exports to UAE posted an average growth of 87.6 per cent in the same period.

“Dubai’s, UAE strategic location in close proximity to the GCC, European, African and Levant regions will enable us to conduct regional trade easily. We also invite UAE companies to look at investing in Ecuador while also encouraging our local businesses to expand their presence into this region,” Hassan said. PRO Ecuador has several activities lined up for this year including outward missions to Ecuador with semi-government and local importers from the UAE.

Ecuador’s first-time participation at AIM, coupled with the new office, was intended to create awareness on possible investment opportunities to other participating countries. Ecuador was also among the country pavilions being highlighted at the event along with a country presentation during the first day of AIM.

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