Officials of Dafza and Export Bahrain signing the agreement.

Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (Dafza) has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Export Bahrain, establishing frameworks for technical collaboration to support their joint efforts in institutional development, facilitating business activities, supporting companies and their plans for growth and expansion and exchanging information and expertise.

Amna Lootah, Assistant Director-General of Dafza; and Safa Abdulkhaliq, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Export Bahrain, signed the agreement. It seeks to encourage the two countries’ companies to expand joint trade relations, in addition to enhancing bilateral cooperation in the fields of innovation and entrepreneurship, exchanging expertise and best practices, and facilitating access to technologies, markets and business networks.

The agreement grants Export Bahrain access to the global companies that set up headquarters in Dubai Airport Freezone to support Bahraini exporters according to a framework established by the agreement. It will grant Dafza access to the companies supported by Export Bahrain to work towards improving the companies’ relations with their counterparts in Dafza and exchange information, services, and offers.

In addition, the two sides will cooperate to organise activities, workshops, seminars, and conferences to support establishing relations between companies, in addition to cooperating in research and development and other relevant fields.

Lootah said that this agreement is a new and special addition to the relations between the UAE and Bahrain, and underlines the commitment of Dafza and Export Bahrain to provide local and international companies supported by the two sides with quality services. It facilitates for the companies a network of relations and partnerships, helping them to expand in target markets, and access the largest possible client and consumer base.

“This agreement is also the cornerstone of strategic cooperation that benefits both sides and their short and long-term goals. It serves as a starting point for active cooperation that strengthens the offers provided by Dafza and Export Bahrain, particularly during the next stage which will witness recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economic sectors,” she added.

Abdulkhaliq, in turn, stated, “The signing of this MoU with Dafza comes within our strategic plans to continue creating a network of strong relationships with key regional and international partners, to advance SME operations by providing them access to additional facilitation and potential growth opportunities. The Memorandum permits SME exporters based in Bahrain to capitalise on the supportive facilities offered by Dafza, such as its business-friendly environment, world-class infrastructure, tax exemptions and more, to meet their regional and global exporting aspirations. A

This step, she said, provides a framework that will allow both sides to implement an integrated practice for enabling companies in each party’s jurisdiction to grow their businesses in the region and beyond.

This agreement is one in a series penned by Dafza recently, all of which seek to expand the free zone’s network of partners around the world and its portfolio of services. The agreements showcase the added value and benefits provided to customers, thereby bolstering the reputation of Dafza as having one of the most advanced, flexible, and active business environments in the region and the world.

Export Bahrain continues its efforts to support non-oil exports by expanding its business development services, by providing a package of high-quality services and solutions to help companies reach foreign markets and to help develop and diversify Bahraini products.

Meanwhile the Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (Dafza) announced that its contribution to Dubai’s non-oil foreign trade for the first half of 2021 reached 11 per cent. H1 trade in the Freezone grew 34 per cent from the same period last year to reach Dhs77 billion, with a trade surplus of Dhs6.2 billion.

Imports recorded a growth of 44.5 per cent in the first half of the year compared to the corresponding period last year, reaching Dhs35.4 billion, which represents 8.5 per cent of Dubai’s total imports. In terms of re-exports, Dafza grew 24 per cent to total Dhs40.8 billion, representing 20.5 per cent of Dubai’s total non-oil foreign trade. Exports saw a 501 per cent growth compared to the same period of the previous year.

These results reflect Dubai’s success in reinforcing its role as a global trade hub and becoming a key player in the worldwide supply and trade chain. The strong growth figures, achieved despite disruptions to the movement of goods, trade chains and economic cycles due to the pandemic, demonstrate the agility and proactivity shown by the UAE and Dubai in spurring recovery through innovation and strong support for investors and businesses.