The general director of Andalucía Global, Rosario Alarcón, opened the event that features a market to which the community exported 43% more from January to August 2021.
La Junta de Andalucía, through the Ministry of the Presidency, Public Administration and Interior, held at the headquarters of Extenda-Andalucía Export and Foreign Investment in Seville, a business meeting between the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates in Spain, the Hon. Mr. Majid Al Suwaidi, and a representative delegation of the Andalusian productive fabric, in order to foster business and institutional ties between both territories and show the potential of Andalusia as an investment destination.
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Likewise, exports from Andalusia to the United Arab Emirates have grown by 43% in the first eight months of the year to reach the figure of 149 million euros, an increase that responds to the reactivation of aeronautical sales which, although they have not recovered the pre-pandemic pace in the market, in this month of August alone they have multiplied by 597 to 39 million.
The meeting was inaugurated by the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates and the general director of Andalucía Global, Rosario Alarcon, and was attended by the director of international relations of the Confederation of Businessmen of Andalusia (CEA), Michael Guardiola, the president of the Institutional Relations Commission of the Andalusian Council of Chambers of Commerce, Moisés Sampedro, and the representatives of seven Andalusian companies from the sectors that offer the best investment opportunities in the community.
During the meeting, the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates in Spain, Hon. Mr. Majid Al-Suwaidi, on an institutional visit to Andalusia, has been able to learn first-hand about the leadership that Andalusia has in sectors such as agri-food and its auxiliary industry, renewable energy, aerospace, ICT, the environment, education and health, as well as attractive for foreign investment that they present.
Likewise, representatives of the Emirati Embassy in Spain conveyed to the Andalusian companies present the business opportunities that exist in the country for foreign firms and their potential as an investment issuer. In this sense, the general director of Andalucía Global, Rosario AlarconHe stressed that United Arab Emirates It is a market with “excellent business opportunities for companies in Andalusia”, in addition to “a key access platform to other markets in the region of Middle East and North Africa, one of the economic areas with the best growth prospects.”
Thus, he indicated that Trade relations between the United Arab Emirates and Andalusia “have advanced very significantly.” "Specifically, trade exchanges have grown by 44% in the last decade, reaching 280 million euros in 2020; while, in this time, the Andalusian companies that regularly export to the country have doubled, reaching 154 in 2020, which reflects that the Andalusia Brand “It is gaining presence in the market,” he noted.
The Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates in Spain, His Excellency. Mr. Majid Al-Suwaidi, on an institutional visit to Andalusia, has been able to see first-hand the leadership that Andalusia has in various sectors
On the other hand, Rosario Alarcón emphasized the “magnificent investment possibilities that exist between both territories.” “On the one hand we have United Arab Emirates, one of the main countries issuing foreign investment, and another, Andalusia, in which investing is now easier than ever,” he stressed.
Along these lines, the general director of Andalucía Global, said that Andalusia “is one of the best connected regions in Europe, meeting point between Atlantic and the Mediterranean and connecting link Europe with Africa, Asia and America. A privileged position that is enhanced by a first-class logistics and infrastructure network and numerous attractive sectors for investment.”
As he indicated, "to these fantastic conditions is added the strong commitment of the Andalusian Government to make our region a refuge for investment, which is now reinforced with the initiatives of the Strategy for the Internationalization of the Andalusian Economy 2021-2027 to improve the investment climate, streamline projects through a single window and create a capital investment fund for Andalusian companies that favors their internationalization.”
On the other hand, Extenda organized, also yesterday, the visit of the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates in Spain, the Hon. Mr. Majid Al Suwaidi, to the company Ayesa (Seville) and to the Airbus plant in San Pablo (Seville).
Andalusian companies at the meeting
The Andalusian business community was represented at the meeting by the Confederation of Businessmen of Andalusia, the Andalusian Council of Chambers of Commerce and seven leading community firms at a national and international level in the aforementioned sectors. Among them are the Sevillian firms Acesur, AGQ Labs and The South Oracle; the malagueñas Hutesa y Aertec; the grenadine Natural Soft and Loyola University. Each of the participating companies had a turn to speak at the meeting to present themselves and, later, they took part in a discussion with the representatives of the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Spain.
