UAE freezone evokes industry interest during India roadshow

DUBAI: UAE's leading free zone, Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), has said a large number of Indian companies from food, oil and gas, metal and healthcare sectors have expressed interest in setting up their regional offices and other facilities in Dubai.

Jafza's five-day Roadshow, held from March 11-15, reinforced the free zone's status as the most favoured business and logistics hub for the Middle East region among Indian businesses and institutional investors, it said in a statement on Monday.

These companies are interested in either establishing their footprint in the Middle East or want to further strengthen their presence in the region, it added.

"Keen interest of Indian companies in Jafza and Dubai reflects not only the close commercial ties the two sides enjoy but also huge business opportunities the resource-rich Middle East region offers to Indian investors.

"The combined investment of Middle East economies on infrastructure development is estimated to exceed USD 4 trillion in the next 10 years. This offers huge opportunities to not only large Indian multinationals but also to Indian SMEs, who are well known for their entrepreneurship and expertise," Deputy CEO of Jafza Ibrahim Mohamed Al Janahi said.

Jafza Roadshow covered New Delhi and Mumbai. The seminar was attended by a significant number of prominent Indian businesses and trade promotional bodies such as the Federation of Indian Exporters Organisation and Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority.