Dubai Chamber opens an office in Australia
Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Media Release, 9 May 2024
Recently, Australia’s trade relationship with the Middle East strengthened by the establishment of an MOU between the Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Dubai Chamber and the launch of the Dubai Chamber office in Sydney, Australia. This is testament to the strong collaboration and opportunity to strengthen future collaboration between Australia and the Middle East, with a hub in Dubai. Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), it was voted the 5th best city in the world (Best Cities 2023), 2nd best city in the world for expats (Internations), most popular travel destination of 2023 on TripAdvisor, and the world’s top destination for FDI projects. Dubai contributes 78 per cent to the total UAE-Australia Trade.
In March 2021, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced the restructuring of Dubai Chamber and the formation of three chambers for the emirate, namely, Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Dubai International Chamber, and Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, which now operate under Dubai Chambers.
Dubai Chamber International in Australia is not a membership organisation and there are no membership fees. The only way to receive membership to Dubai Chambers is to register an entity in Dubai. Once your business is registered in Dubai, you will deal directly with the local team at Dubai Chamber of Commerce.
Dubai Chamber appointed Ms Sophia Demetriades Toftdahl as the Chief Representative in Australia. Ms Demetriades Tofdahl is located in Sydney and has spent 25 years in the international education and trade landscape prior to joining Dubai Chamber. She is the founding President of the Norwegian Australian Chamber of Commerce (NACC) founded in 2014, the main organiser of Euromix – a networking event for all EU Chambers, and a Co-Chair of Revenue Enablement Society (RES).
Sophia Demetriades says ‘Dubai Chamber are grateful for the close collaboration with the Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AACCI) and we strongly recommend Australian businesses to join AACCI and be part of our community’.
Dubai Chamber’s International office in Australia oversee both expansion of Dubai companies that want to enter the Australian market, and attraction of Australian companies that want to access the greater MENA region with Dubai as a hub.
‘Our mission is to support Australian companies who want to invest in Dubai by registering a business there and to support Australian exporters as best we can’ says Ms Demetriades.
Dubai’s Economic Agenda “D33” aims to double the size of Dubai’s economy by 2033, making it one of the top 3 cities for living, investing, and working. In light of this agenda, Dubai Chamber has doubled its number of overseas offices from 15-25 during 2023, including Australia. They will reach 50 international offices by end of 2025.
Dubai Chambers is a non-profit public entity that supports Dubai’s vision as a global player by empowering businesses, providing innovative value-added services and access to influential networks.
The UAE is Australia’s largest trade and investment partner in the Middle East and the 19th largest trading partner globally ($9.3 billion in two-way goods and services trade in 2022). Key Australian exports to the UAE include alumina, meat, oil seeds, and higher education. The United Arab Emirates is the second top export destination for Australian vegetables for over a decade ($32M in 2021).
UAE investment in Australia totalled $12.6 billion in 2022. The main products that UAE exported to Australia are Nitrogenous Fertilizers ($242M), Copper Wire ($196M), and Refined Petroleum ($110M). Services trade is an increasingly key component of the commercial relationship, including construction, financial and professional services, tourism, and education.
UAE is an opportunity for market diversification for Australian goods exporters and Australian producers can serve as reliable trade and food security partners for the UEA. Likewise, trade in services including construction, minerals, resources, engineering, education, agribusiness, and health represent further opportunities. Several Australian universities have expressed an interest in international education and research opportunities in UAE, especially as it is heavily invested in oil and gas transition to more diversified economies and renewable energy.
There are over 300 Australian entities currently operating across the UAE, and Dubai is heavily invested in growing this number evident by the launch of their Australia office.
Ms Demetriades Toftdahl looks forward to a close cooperation between the Dubai Chamber and the Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Together we are hosting a series of events educating the business community on the benefits of doing business in Dubai.
