The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) is organizing a trade mission to Lisbon in Portugal during October 8-10, with the aim of enhancing economic cooperation and mutual investment between Sharjah and Portugal, under the framework of the growing bilateral relations between the UAE and Portugal in various fields.

The trade mission delegation, which will be headed by HE Abdallah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), will review the opportunities and advantages of investing in Sharjah. The delegation will also review the incentives and facilities offered by the emirate, the chamber and the other entities that are participating in the delegation to foreign companies that are looking to establish their businesses in Sharjah and enhance their presence in the region’s markets.

The visit will witness the organization of the Second UAE-Portuguese Business Forum, which the SCCI was honored to host for the first time in the past. During the forum, HE Abdallah Sultan Al Owais delivered his welcome speech in the presence of Engineer Ângelo Correia, President of the BOD of Arab-Portuguese Chamber; and Dr. Luís Filipe de Castro Henriques, President of the BOD at AICEP.

The official visit will witness the signing of a cooperation agreement between the SCCI and the Arab-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIAP). Furthermore, the memorandum of understanding that was previously signed between the SCCI and the Portugal Global - Trade and Investment Agency (AICEP) will be updated. The visit will also aim to hold a variety of business meetings with official Portuguese institutions, as well as organize field visits to some of the leading commercial and industrial enterprises in Portugal.

The trade mission will be organized by the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), in cooperation with the Arab-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIAP), and in coordination with the country’s embassy in Portugal. The mission’s delegation will include the participation of HE Mohamed Rashid Deemas, Member of the BOD at the SCCI; HE Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, CEO of Expo Centre Sharjah; HE Mohamed Ahmed Amin, Acting Director-General of the SCCI; Jamal Buzanjal, Director of the Media Department at the SCCI; Sultan Shattaf, Director of Business Development and Marketing at Expo Centre Sharjah; in addition to a number of officials from the SCCI. The delegation will also include the participation of representatives of the Sharjah Economic Development Department, and the heads of some of the biggest companies in Sharjah’s private sector.

During the meetings with Portuguese officials, the delegation will focus on encouraging the Portuguese business community to invest in sectors that align with Sharjah’s economic vision and support its path towards achieving sustainable development, especially in the fields of Healthcare, Education, and Ecotourism among others.

Fatema Al Muqarrab, Head of International Cooperation at the SCCI, will give a presentation on the opportunities and benefits of investment in Sharjah, as well as the services and the facilities provided by the chamber to the business community. Sultan Shattaf, Director of Business Development and Marketing at Expo Centre Sharjah, will give a presentation that reviews the importance of the centre and its strategic location, as well as its role both regionally and globally. He will also discuss the services that the centre offers to exhibitors, in addition to the most important exhibitions that it organizes and hosts throughout the year.

The mission comes at a time when the volume of trade exchange between the UAE and Portugal has reached $342 million by the end of 2017, according to the Ministry of Economy. The volume of UAE imports from Portugal have reached $317 million, while the volume of UAE exports and re-exports to Portugal have reached $24 million, noting that the volume of trade between the countries totalled $138.7 million in 2010.