[ad_1]
Cape Town – United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a good position export to african countries Because of its well-developed logistics industry, the CEO of Emirates Trade Center told Al-Monitor.
The center provides UAE companies with a one-stop export solution to help them break into Africa’s emerging markets. The initiative facilitates meetings between SMEs and potential business partners in the UAE or Africa.
The Emirates Trade Center focuses primarily on East Africa, with offices in Nairobi, Kenya, but chief executive Walid Hareb Al Falahi said he was looking to connect UAE and West African businesses, starting in Accra, Ghana, where it is working on 100-megawatts of solar project.
Talking about what gives the UAE an edge over other countries in the region exporting to Africa, Farahi said logistics are a “game changer”.
“Today, we are able to hedge the logistics. Currently, it is Dubai to East Africa, but our aim is also West Africa (West Africa. We are working on this issue,” Farahi told Al-Monitor at the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) business forum in Cape Town on Tuesday.
“We are growing as a trade hub. Sometimes in Dubai, you can get cheaper products than in China. Goods are always available. Logistics is very competitive,” he said.
Farahi noted that the UAE could play a bigger role in trade with Africa, but could also invest in large-scale projects in energy, infrastructure and agriculture.
“Agriculture is driven by food security. National [UAE] There is a responsibility to develop our food security basket,” he added.
The UAE and Kenya are looking to deepen economic ties. Negotiations for a comprehensive economic partnership officially began late last year. The partnership will be the first of its kind between a Gulf Arab country and an African country, Emirates News Agency WAM reported last July. Through the partnership, the two countries aim to remove trade barriers for a wide range of goods and services, increasing opportunities for importers and exporters.
Another African country that the UAE Trade Center is considering for more cooperation with Egypt is Egypt, but Farahi said Egypt is currently a better source of capital and products than exports because of costs. He explained that although the country has a huge manufacturing market, the e-commerce industry is not strong, leading to weak demand for products from the Gulf region.
“Egypt is one of the countries that is closest to my heart, but when you look at the logistical connectivity, it’s very thin between the two countries. egypt and africaFarahi said.
In fact, Egypt trades very little with the rest of the continent — only 15.4 percent of its exports go to African countries, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Most of it is exported to Europe and West Asia.
Despite being one of “Africa’s biggest powerhouses” in terms of products and services, it has an underdeveloped logistics sector, Farahi said.
He added that the UAE Trade Center is even considering leasing some wide-body aircraft to help transport products to different parts of Egypt and develop imports from the UAE.
[ad_2]
Source link
