Sharjah, Portugal explore avenues of mutual cooperation, investment

The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI), represented by its Chairman, Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, received on Tuesday Dr Luis Felipe de Castro Henriques, Chairman of the Portuguese Trade & Investment Agency (AICEP Portugal Global).

The meeting reviewed the advantages of investment in Sharjah and the emerging opportunities in the emirate’s economic sectors as a leading business and commercial hub across the region.

Present at the meeting were Mohammad Ahmed Amin Al-Awadi, SCCI Director-General, Fatima Al Mokarrab, Director of International Relations Department, SCCI, and Daniel Pereira Pontes, Economic Counsellor, Portuguese Embassy, UAE.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed opportunities for mutual cooperation to serve the interests of business communities in the UAE and Portugal and the need to launch joint programmes and initiatives to introduce the private sector to the available investment partnerships, in addition to organizing trade delegations and encouraging companies to actively participate in the exhibitions held in Expo Centre Sharjah or in Portugal.

While welcoming the visiting delegation, Abdullah Sultan Al Owais underlined the Chamber’s keenness to strengthen cooperation and coordination with Portugal through consolidating trade relations and mutual investment between business communities in both sides.

“Our meeting today is a one of series of official visits and meetings between Sharjah and Portugal, the latest of which was the trade mission organized by the SCCI to Lisbon in 2018,”

Al Owais expressed hope that the current meeting will form a starting point to further deepen the relationship between the SCCI and the AICEP Portugal Global, as this would help increase the trade and investment volume and build future partnerships between the two friendly countries, owing to the importance of Portugal as an economic gateway to Europe and the importance of Sharjah as a gateway to various markets in the Middle East.

“Such meetings help deepen and strengthen the long-standing relationships between the two nations at all levels. They also serve the interests of business communities in the short- and long-term and we are expecting further growth in bilateral relations and partnerships,” said Dr Luis Felipe de Castro. He commended the robust economy the UAE and Sharjah enjoy as a global destination for trailblazing economic ventures.

The visiting delegation concluded their visit by a tour to the permanent exhibition of locally manufactured products, where they were briefed on a wide range of products that are locally manufactured by more than 180 firms and exhibited through 191 stands. They praised the high quality of the products, stressing that the exhibition is an ideal platform for promoting products and enhancing cooperation opportunities between exhibiting companies and visiting delegations.

The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry has recently won the 13th cycle of the Arabia CSR (corporate social responsibility) Awards in the category of public sector organisation/departments.

Organised by the Arabia CSR Network, the award is the first-of-its-kind initiative to gain the support of the leadership of Dubai, the UN Global Compact, the United Nations Environment Programme, the League of Arab States, and a wide host of private sector entities. The SCCI was crowned the winner during a ceremony held yesterday at the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel under the patronage of Sheikh Salem bin Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Department of Civil Aviation of Ras Al Khaimah.

As part of its strategy to prepare an elite of functional leaders and competencies capable of enhancing Sharjah’s sustainable development process, the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI), represented by the Sharjah Training & Development Centre (STDC), organised a series of online training courses aimed at developing skills of the Chamber and its affiliated institutions’ employees. Titled the “Professional Executive Director Programme”, the first training course was held in cooperation with the Secretariat of the Sharjah Excellence Award and was presented by the trainer Omar Murad. “We are committed to creating an environment that stimulates innovation and creativity and strengthens the capabilities of our staff to distinctively serve the interests of the business community,” said Mohammad Ahmed Amin Al-Awadi, the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry Director General. “The SCCI is also keen to elevate the staff awareness about the distinguished corporate performance programmes to help increase our customers’ satisfaction with the service quality.”