In a bid to further boost Dubais robust investment and trade relations with Spain, the Dubai Investment Development Agency (Dubai FDI), the investment development agency of Dubai Economy (DED), recently held a strategic meeting with major industries and key investors at the Circulo Ecuestre in Barcelona, Spain in collaboration with Senda International Company. The meeting formed part of Dubai FDIs hard work to showcase Dubais competitive edge to attract international investors and boost the emirates socio-economic progress.

Dubai, known as a entrance to regional markets and a global business hub, is bidding to become a leading smart and sustainable city in the world. Following Spanish investors strong interest in the tourism and retail sectors of the emirate, Dubai FDI, through this visit, has expressed a key focus on attracting their courtesy towards new investment opportunities in the construction, technology and equipment sectors, especially after seeing great interest in such sectors.
Fahad Al Gergawi, CEO, Dubai FDI, said: Dubai FDI continues to expand its trade missions in several platforms and our existence in Spain is in line with our obligation to promote Dubais key investment prospects. Spanish investors have stated strong interest in the construction, technology and equipment sectors in Dubai and we are keen to further improve our positive relations with leading Spanish investors to discover how we can create and open new markets for them in line with Dubais economic diversification policy. Our current conference with business leaders in Spain in a wide range of industries has opened new gateways to further increase Spains presence in Dubais key sectors and address relevant issues.

During his speech, H.E. Mohammed Abdullah Ali Khater Al Shamsi, UAE Consul General in Barcelona lauded the endlessly evolving bilateral relations between the UAE and Spain on all fronts. Both countries witnessed positive growth rates in their trade balance and joint investment relations.
He said: "There is still much room for increasing the level of cooperation and attracting Spanish investment to the UAE, particularly across priority sectors, foremost amongst which are renewable energy, transport, education, health, technology, water and space."
H.E. also said that promotional seminars are vital to familiarize to the Spanish business community the array of investment openings in the UAE, which is a gateway to many international markets.
Khalid Raie Boom, Deputy CEO of Dubai FDI, said: "The recently concluded meeting was organized after we signed an contract with Senda International Company, a business consulting firm that delivers services to Spanish investors who wish to undertake business and enlarge their business networks in Dubai. During the meeting, Natalia de Olano, CEO of Senda International, presented her positive experiences as an investor in Dubai for 18 years and her services to companies wishing to reach other regional markets through Dubai."

It is our honor to sign this partnership contract with Dubai FDI. We are happy to build this new bridge with Spain together with Dubai FDI. We will guide and support investors by creating stable local corporate relations to make their investment even more rewarding. We are satisfied to introduce the strategic advantages of Dubai to principal companies which has not explored yet the opportunities that Dubai offers as an international business hub, specially with no income or corporate tax for businesses or individuals. In private meetings we explored their objectives, they all stated it this is a great initiative to build trust and strengthen their relations with Dubai. We expect this to be just a start of much better things to come, said Olano.
Dubai FDI also held separate one-on-one meetings with businesses in major and strategic segments such as construction, real estate, aviation, maritime, education, legal advisory, food industry, and technology.
According to the latest data released by Dubai FDI Monitor, Spanish investment in Dubai has reached around USD 800 million this year, putting Spain among the top three investors in terms of direct foreign capital in the emirate.

Apart from the retail industry, the report also revealed Spanish investors high interest in investing in the tourism sector, with their investments reaching USD 500 million. Spain is currently among the top 10 investors in FDI projects this year in Dubai.