Dubai Chamber brings UAE business community face to face with Kyrgyz President

Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted H.E. Almazbek Atambaev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic, and his accompanying delegation during a business meeting attended by board members of Dubai and Abu Dhabi Chambers and UAE businessmen at the Chamber headquarters on Sunday.

During the meeting, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic called upon UAE businessmen to invest in his country’s promising sectors as well as to promote economic cooperation in light of the close bilateral ties existing between the two countries.

President Atambaev highlighted the investment opportunities in his country, especially in the areas of mining of gold and aluminium as well as infrastructure including the building of power stations and hydropower substations, resorts and tourist hotels. He also informed that his country was ranked first in the field of health tourism by the "National Geographic" magazine.

During the interactive session with UAE businessmen, President Atambaev spoke about the investment potential in infrastructural projects including airports and transportation services, especially the building of a railway line linking the southern and central Asian countries with China. He urged UAE companies to engage in these investments which he said are key to the economic growth of Central Asia. 

President Atambaev also informed about his country’s position in the field of energy generation and demand in export to neighbouring countries like Pakistan and India. He added that investment in the agricultural sector and packaging of food products is open to UAE companies. 

"We are confident of the experience of Emirati businessmen in various economic sectors, which even European countries can benefit from, therefore, we want UAE businesses to come to our country and invest in the many promising sectors and enrich us with their experience," he said. 

The meeting was attended by H.E. Suhail Al Mazroui, UAE Minister of Energy, H.E. Mohammed Al Mehairbi, UAE Ambassador to Uzbekistan, H.E. Majid Al Shamsi, 1st Vice Chairman, Dubai Chamber, and H.E. Mohamed Thani Murshed Al Rumaithi Chairman of UAE Federations of Chambers of Commerce and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 

H.E. Suhail Al Mazroui, UAE Minister of Energy, informed that the organisation of a trade delegation to the Kyrgyz Republic would be the right approach to take bilateral ties between the two countries to a higher level as this will expose the UAE business community to the attractive investment opportunities in the Kyrgyz Republic. 

On his part, H.E. Majid Al Shamsi, 1st Vice Chairman, Dubai Chamber, stressed on the importance of bilateral ties between Dubai and the Kyrgyz Republic, as he stated that currently there are 49 Kyrgyz companies operating in Dubai and registered with Dubai Chamber while AED 2.1 billion was the emirate's non-oil trade with the country during the year 2013 as it occupied 65^th position on the list of Dubai's trading partners.

He further stated that the Chamber is very keen to strengthen these ties with the Kyrgyz Republic, in line with its strategy of exploring promising markets of the Central Asian region for UAE companies. 

Al Shamsi reiterated Dubai Chamber’s commitment to provide all the support to the business community, which includes over 200 nationalities, and to facilitate and stimulate joint investments, while expressing his willingness to cooperate with the Kyrgyz business community for the achievement of common goals between the two sides. 

He also highlighted Dubai’s status of a leading business and investment destination in the region offering excellent access to GCC, African and Southeast Asia markets as well as the emirate’s diversified economy, its sophisticated infrastructural and logistics facilities and unconditional Government support to businesses from all over the world. 

H.E. Tolkunbek Abdygylov, Chairman, National Bank of Kyrgyz Republic, spoke about three ways of investments in the financial sector in his country including the establishment commercial banks, providing finance and provision of services and products through Islamic banking. 

He pointed at some of the lucrative investment projects including a railway line linking Russia and Kazakhstan with Kyrgyzstan, at a project value of $6.8 billion, a power plant worth $1.2 billion, and a tourist hotel, worth $52 million as well as several agricultural projects.