The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry has announced the opening of a representative office in the Republic of Panama.

The new office has been established to strengthen the organisation's presence in Latin America, which forms part of its strategic plan to expand into promising markets, said a statement from Dubai Chamber.

Dubai Chamber operates several international offices. These affiliated operations support Dubai's economic diversification plans and strengthen the competitiveness of Emirati companies in global markets and assist in its expansion in key markets, it said.

The new Panama office is Dubai Chamber's second in Latin America and its ninth in the world, with offices already established in Azerbaijan, Brazil, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Iraq and Mozambique, it added.

Hamad Buamim, president and CEO, Dubai Chamber, said: “We are committed to bolstering our presence in countries that provide opportunities for growth and expansion for our partners from Dubai's business community.”

“Panama is a gateway to the Central American and Latin American regions and offers a host of opportunities, particularly in the logistics, finance and agricultural sectors,” he said.

“The Panama Canal international waterway also offers ready access to numerous other strategic global markets,” he added.

Dubai Chamber's new Panama office aims to contribute to strengthening economic relations between Dubai and Panama's business communities and to facilitate an improvement of trade between the two regions, which has grown significantly over the past five years.

Dubai's non-oil trade between with Panama grew from $11 million in 2012 to $20.6 million in 2017, an increase of 87 per cent.

Dubai's key imports from Panama include vegetable products and textiles, whereas Dubai's main re-export products to Panama include transport equipment, machinery and electrical/electronic equipment and parts, and chemicals and allied products, it stated. – TradeArabia News Service