UAE, France trade ties zoom: GFK Strategies

Inayat-ur-Rahman, Business Editor

The volume of between UAE and France are on a solid growth track and is marching ahead. The second-largest European economy expects both oil and non-oil trade with the UAE to expand this year, with the traditionally strong luxury goods and aviation sectors driving growth in 2023.

Romain Gerardin-Fresse  a leading French lawyer and Founder of  GFK Strategies told Gulf Today that he is  always been fascinated by the intellectual quality of Emirati decision-makers, and by their ability to think ahead. The applicability of liberal concepts, the visionary nature of the measures implemented and the simplicity of the procedures offered to investors make Dubai a veritable oasis for the entrepreneur of tomorrow.

Speaking about his Dubai expansion Romain stated, “GFK has been operating in Dubai since 2019.

“We decided to make use of the many advantages offered by the UAE system to relocate a large part of our consultancy business, which has historically been based in France and the UK. Demand from a section of our customer base led us to penetrate the local market. Our sales has increased by almost 28% over 2023.”

“The Emirates have become a veritable El Dorado. In 2022, when many European countries were in recession, their GDP grew by 3.1%, having already grown by 2.5% in 2021.Dubai, in particular, has made considerable efforts to diversify its economy away from oil, with increased attractiveness in key sectors such as tourism, aviation, technology, real estate and financial services. The inflow of FDI into the UAE has been on an upward trajectory, underlining its role as a hub for companies and investors from the Middle East. In the year 2019, the UAE attracted more than $13.8 billion in FDI, marking a 32.8% increase on the previous year. Dubai is experiencing a steady increase in global creative FDI capital attraction, reaching Dhs 20.87 billion ($5.68 billion) in 2023.