Mohammed bin Rashid approves board and advisory council of Dubai International Chamber

New chamber to boost partnerships with global corporations and support their operations in Dubai

Mohammed bin Rashid: Dubai International Chamber represents a new model that aims to support our international partners who are part of Dubai’s economic development

Responsibilities of Dubai International Chamber: 

• Strengthen partnerships with global corporations, investors and entrepreneurs in key strategic markets in Dubai
• Develop incentive programmes for international businesses
• Review the suggestions of global corporations and investors through board members and advisory council  
• Support multinational companies based in Dubai and facilitate international trade services
• Help implement Dubai’s foreign trade plan which aims to expand the emirate’s trade networks to 200 additional cities around the world

 His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, approved the board of directors and advisory council of the newly-formed Dubai International Chamber as part of a recent government restructuring that aims to drive a comprehensive economic development in Dubai. 

Dubai International Chamber, one of three new chambers, will develop plans to boost partnerships with global corporations, facilitate their operations and support promising ideas and projects, as part of the efforts to establish Dubai as a global trade hub and a favorite destination for talents. 

The chamber will also promote the opportunities that Dubai offers in facilitating the flow of international trade including its strategic logistics hub, advanced ports and airports and agile, pro-growth business environment. 

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said, “Dubai International Chamber represents a new model that aims to support our international partners who are part of Dubai’s economic development.” 

He added, “the new chamber members will work towards achieving our plan to boost Dubai’s foreign trade to AED2 trillion within the next five years.” 

A New Model

Dubai International Chamber’s multidisciplinary board of directors and advisory council that bring together experts from all over the world reflect Dubai’s leading status as a global hub for innovation and entrepreneurship. 

The representation of diverse business sectors in the chamber’s advisory council ensures providing a vibrant and advanced business environment in Dubai, equipped with world-class infrastructure and agile legislations and facilities that support the launch of new sectors. The new model aims to shape a robust entrepreneurship ecosystem in Dubai based on effective strategic partnerships and accelerate the post-COVID-19 economic recovery.

Chaired by His Excellency Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the chamber’s board of directors include: Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing; Stephen Moss, Regional Chief Executive Officer – Middle East, North Africa and Turkey at HSBC; May Nasrallah, Founder and Executive Chairman of deNovo Corporate Advisors; Gassan Al-Kibsi, Managing partner for the Middle East at McKinsey; Mark Willis, CEO Middle East and Africa at Accor; Nader Haffar, Chairman and CEO of KPMG in the Lower Gulf (UAE and Oman); Remy Ejel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for the Middle East and North Africa in Nestle; Dr. Habib Al Mulla, Executive Chairman of Baker McKenzie; Nabil Habayeb, Senior Vice President at General Electric, and President & CEO of GE International Markets (GEIM); Sanjiv Kakkar, Executive Vice President of Unilever MENA, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus; Elissar Farah Antonios, MENA Cluster Head & CEO of Citibank; Julia Onslow-Cole, ‏Partner and Global Government Strategies & Compliance at Fragomen; Rani Raad, President of CNN Worldwide Commercial; Anuj Ranjan, Managing Partner, CEO South Asia and Middle East at Brookfield; Shukri Eid, Managing Director - Gulf Region  at Cisco; Ahmad Alkhallafi, ‏Managing Director at Hewlett Packard Enterprise UAE; and Rola Abu Manneh, ‏CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, UAE.

The advisory council includes: Mohammed Alshaya, Executive Chairman of Al Shaya Group; Saad Asim Abood Al Janabi, Chairman of Al Janabi Group; Dietmar Siersdorf, Middle East and UAE Managing Director at Siemens Energy; Ashraf El Afifi, President of Henkel in India, Middle East and Africa; Tim Clark, ‏President of Emirates Airline; Rasha Makarem, ‏Regional CEO for Starcom in the Middle East & North Africa; Azad Moopen, ‏Chairman of Aster DM Healthcare; Eugene Willemsen, ‏CEO, Africa, Middle East, South Asia at PepsiCo; Samer Khoury, Chief Executive Officer of the Consolidated Contractors Company; Jerome Droesch, CEO of Cigna in the Middle East and North Africa; Raja Trad, ‏Executive Chairman of Publicis Groupe Middle East; Richard Edelman, ‏President and CEO of Edelman; Ian Goldin, ‏Professor of Globalisation and Development at the University of Oxford; Tilman Fertitta, chairman, CEO, and owner of Landry's, Inc; Nidal Abou-Ltaif, President at Avaya International (EMEA & APAC); Ziv Aviram, Co-founder & Co-CEO of OrCam Technologies; Dr Alim Markus, ‏Chairman and CEO of Maspion Group; Saeed Al Awar, Co-head in the Middle East and Head of UAE office at Rothchilds & Co; Norm Gilsdorf, President for Russia, Central Asia and Middle East at Honeywell; Nicholas Maclean, Managing Director of CBRE Middle East; Tarek Rizk, President Middle East & North Africa at Schlumberger; Geoffrey Dickinson, CEO of DMG events; Sunil John, President, Middle East of BCW; Caspar Herzberg, ‏President of Schneider Electric Middle East & Africa; Udo Huenger, Vice President Market Area Midde East at BASF; Ahmed Dualeh, ‏Managing Director at Dow Chemical Company; Renuka Jagtiani, Chairwomen and CEO at Landmark Group; Bernard Dunn, President of Boeing Middle East, Turkey and Africa; Khaled ElDabag, ‏Managing Director at Barclays Investment Bank in UAE; Michael Cleanis, ‎‏Managing Director and Head of MENA global banking at UBS; Joe Rainey, President, Eastern Hemisphere at Halliburton Company; and Mohammed Amin, Senior Vice President, Middle East, Russia, Africa and Turkey at Dell Technologies.

Economic Expansion 

His Excellency Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman of Dubai International Chamber, said, “the chamber seeks to strengthen partnerships with global corporations, investors and entrepreneurs and boost Dubai’s status as a major trade hub as the emirate enters a new development phase. Through integrated plans, the chamber will target new international markets and support the expansion of national companies abroad.”

The chamber will also support and integrate global investors, entrepreneurs and talents into Dubai’s flourishing business community within a comprehensive framework that ensures providing an agile pro-business environment. 

Bin Sulayem noted that the chamber will play a central role in achieving Dubai’s five-year foreign trade plan, adopted earlier in March, to expand Dubai’s trading network to 200 additional cities around the world. With a network that currently extends to 400 cities, the plan seeks to position Dubai at the heart of the international trade flow.

Main Responsibilities

The Dubai International Chamber aims to establish Dubai’s status as a global trade hub and a favorite regional destination for global firms; establish and strengthen partnerships with international companies, investors, CEOs and entrepreneurs in key strategic markets in Dubai; and support the expansion of national companies overseas.

The chamber’s key responsibilities also include developing incentive programmes for international companies in collaboration with the relevant entities and reviewing the suggestions of investors and entrepreneurships through the board members; supporting multinational companies based in Dubai and facilitating international trade services; proposing solutions for policymakers in global companies to support Dubai’s economy; and developing legislations on international investment, tax and workforce in the private sector to ease business and trade in Dubai. 

Through plans and projects, Dubai International Chamber seeks to cover 30 high-priority international markets, expand Dubai’s access to new markets and boost Dubai’s status as a favorite regional destination for global corporations. It aims to support national companies to expand operations overseas, while attracting global talents and companies to key business sectors in Dubai.

Government Restructuring 

In a Dubai Council meeting earlier in March, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum issued resolutions to restructure Dubai Chamber of Commerce into three separate entities with distinct functions to lead a comprehensive economic development in Dubai over the next phase. The three chambers - Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy and Dubai International Chamber – will coordinate within a comprehensive framework, under an overarching Dubai Chambers, to position Dubai as a global business hub, to strengthen the role of digital economy, and to support the interests of multinational corporations based in Dubai.