The Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (Dafza) recently participated at the 19th International Logistics and Material Handling Exhibition (SIL) in Barcelona, Spain, with the aim of helping increase foreign direct investment (FDI) opportunities between the freezone and investors from Spain and the other participating countries.

The fair, organised by the Consorcy ZF International S-IU, is a global meeting point for logistics industry professionals. It attracts key exhibitors and thousands of visitors from around the world, providing bridge between the European market and the Latin American, North African, Middle Eastern, and the Mediterranean Basin markets.

More than 600 companies and institutions, 45 per cent of which were international firms, joined the exhibition’s latest edition. The participants included organisations from various sectors, including transport and logistics, infrastructure, real estate, warehousing and equipment, information, electronics, and information and communications technology.

Íñigo de la Serna, Spain’s Minister of Public Works and Transport; Josep Rull, the Catalan Minister of Territory and Sustainability; Jordi Cornet, president of Barcelona Free Zone; and Salem Rashid Al Owais, UAE consul general in Barcelona, inaugurated Dafza’s pavilion during the exhibition.

During its participation, Dafza organised a seminar on foreign investments under the theme ‘Boost your business from Dubai to the World’, it said.

It featured the UAE’s strong economic performance, Expo 2020-related opportunities, and the region’s rising logistics sector.

Dafza, one of the world’s most competitive free zones, took the opportunity to present its broader range of investment incentives, distinct and diverse business offerings, and successful efforts to establish good relations with foreign investors from Europe and the rest of the world.

To date, an estimated 27 per cent of the total companies operating in Dafza are from Europe.

Dafza team also met high-level officials from the Chamber of Commerce in Barcelona and the Barcelona Foundation for Halal Services to discuss cooperation and support among parties.

The authority presented investment opportunities for the Catalan business community as well, which will give them an access to the Middle East and Central Asia markets through Dubai and Dafza particularly.

Dafza said it is keen on attracting Catalan business leaders, noting that Catalonia is a major contributor to Spain’s gross domestic product (GDP). As per official statistics, Catalonia accounted for about 20 per cent, or an equivalent of €223.6 billion ($250.37 billion), of Spain’s total GDP in 2016.  

Abdulaziz Al Hammadi, manager of marketing, Dafza said: “We took part in this global exhibition to attract the Catalan business community as part of our full support for the UAE’s economic diversification policy over the past 20 years of Dubai Airport Freezone's success.”

“A number of leading international companies, including top Spanish businesses, have chosen Dubai, a regional business hub, as the centre of their operations in the Gulf, the Middle East, and Asia,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service