Latin America is a key market that will support Dubai’s ambitions of boosting its foreign trade to AED 2 trillion ($544 billion) within five years, H.E. Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, Chairman of Dubai Chambers said as he addressed delegates at the Global Business Forum Latin America (GBF LATAM) 2022 today.

The fourth edition of the forum, organised by Dubai Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Expo 2020 Dubai, kicked off today and brought together heads of state, ministers, government officials and prominent business leaders from the UAE and Latin America at the Dubai Exhibition Centre.

In his welcome address, H.E. Al Ghurair revealed that Dubai’s non-oil imports from Latin America exceeded $6 billion between 2018 and 2020, while data for the first nine months of 2021 showed imports reaching$4.8 billion. He noted that food imports from the Latin American market are still dominate the trade volume and said this trend would continue as the UAE and Latin American countries expand their cooperation on food security.

Exports from Dubai to Latin America and the Caribbean reached $687 million between January and September 2021, he revealed, with the emirate’s status as a trading partner for the region one that is strong and growing, adding that this is a sign that more companies in the UAE are tapping into trade opportunities across Latin America, with a vast majority targeting Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Chile.

Highlighting the strengths of Dubai, H.E. Al Ghurair said that the emirate holds the key to unlocking Latin American economic potential as one of the world’s fastest growing city economies that can offer valuable expertise in key sectors such as logistics, infrastructure, retail, tourism and finance.

“In addition to the right level of investment needed to support the sustainable growth development of Latin American companies and economies, the emirate provides a vast competitive advantage, such as one hundred percent ownership, long term residency, world-class infrastructure, attractive free zones, and a wealth of new incentives which have boosted its value proposition amongst foreign investors and companies around the world,” said Dubai Chambers’ Chairman.

“One third of the population is no more than four hours flight from Dubai, and the emirate’s centralised location provides easy access to over two billion people living in the Middle East, North Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia. As Dubai works towards its target of boosting foreign trade to $544 billion within the next five years, Latin America will be a key focus for our ambitious strategy,” he added.

He noted that the high-calibre participation in GBF LATAM 2022 reflects growing confidence in Dubai as a global hub for Latin America and the Caribbean companies, and added that Expo 2020 Dubai provided an ideal platform for UAE and LATAM countries to take trade relations to the next level.

GBF LATAM 2022 is part of Dubai Chamber’s flagship Global Business Forums series that was launched in 2013. The fourth edition of GBF LATAM is the last of three Global Business Forums hosted on the side-lines of Expo 2020 Dubai, with GBF Africa taking place in October and the first ever GBF ASEAN staged in December. Dubai Chamber of Commerce is the Official Business Integration Partner for Expo 2020 Dubai.