A cure for the international financial crisis will have to come from the US where the meltdown started, according to Hamad Buamim, Director-General of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
"Nobody knows when the current crisis will end as its scale and depth are unclear," he told Emirates Business. Buamim welcomed decisions taken at the G20 summit to boost global trade with a $250 billion (Dh918bn) cash injection and remove protectionist measures.
"The UAE and Dubai will gain from these decisions as the UAE is active in the re-export trade and will benefit from the injection of liquidity into global trade. The UAE will also benefit from the ending of protectionist measures as this will support global trade as well."
Buamim said Dubai's re-export trade would be affected more by the crisis in the coming months.
"During Q1 2009 the re-export trade in Dubai fell by between five and seven per cent in terms of the number of transactions and by 10 to 15 per cent in terms of value due to the fall in the cost of food and building materials. The 2008 figures for the re-export trade were higher than those for 2007."
Buamim said the UAE in general, and Dubai in particular, had taken many steps to increase competitiveness.
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