Dubai; July 6, 2010: His Excellency Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori, UAE Minister of Economy, has highlighted the UAE’s focus on opening new doors of cooperation with South American countries in line with the open policy adopted by the country, at a meeting with His Excellency Jean-Paul Tarud-Kuborn, Ambassador of Chile to the UAE.

The two sides discussed ways to enhance economic relations by organizing meetings and exchange of visits of delegations to highlight the investment opportunities in both countries.

Mr Al Mansoori said the Ministry of Economy has already set action plans to reach out to South American countries and explore new areas of economic cooperation. “South American Countries, especially Brazil, Argentina and Chile, have promising investment opportunities and are currently witnessing remarkable economic growth. The UAE is keen to build strategic relations with these countries which will be beneficial for our national economy and for further strengthening the UAE’s position on the world map,” he added.

Mr Al Mansoori said that many Chilean companies are interested in investing in the UAE and in opening representative offices here, as they consider the UAE as a gateway to the larger Middle East and Central Asian markets. “Many UAE companies have also showed strong interest to invest in various economic sectors in Chile,” he added.

His Excellency Jean-Paul Tarud-Kuborn said his country plans to negotiate a free trade agreement with the GCC block and a series of economic and technical cooperation agreements with the UAE to enhance bilateral trade and exchange of investments. “This will be beneficial to our countries as it will generate high rates of trade exchange with the UAE, also standing to benefit from the 21 FTA agreements that Chile has signed with 57 countries,” he added.

He also showcased the investment opportunities in Chile in food industries, agriculture, construction and copper mining, as Chile is the largest producer of copper in the world.

“Chile and the UAE have bilateral trade relations since 1970, which was further  enhanced in 2006 with the opening of the Trade Commission of Chile in the UAE and later the Embassy in 2009.  This has contributed to increasing Chile’s export to the UAE by US$100 million in one year, from US$61 million to US$162 million in 2007 and has continued to grow thereon despite the global economic situation of the past 2 years. We are looking forward to building stronger relations with the UAE and to enhance investments at various sectors,” he added.

Events being held in cooperation with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development 

April 27, 2010

Dubai eGovernment is organizing a series of events during the 6th meeting of the second working group on eGovernment and administrative simplification between April 27 and 28, 2010. The meeting, which will be held at the Dubai School of Government near Dubai World Trade Centre, will be attended by representatives from member countries of the Middle East and North African (MENA) region and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The events, which are expected to attract 20 to 40 representatives of the participating entities in addition to a team from OECD, will discuss the best strategies to strengthen the joint cooperation between the different parties. During the meeting, the OECD representatives will provide a comprehensive study entitled “Progress in Public Management in the Middle East and North Africa: Case Studies on Policy Reform”. The attendees will also discuss the opportunities of eGovernments in the aftermath of the global financial crisis as well as growth prospects; challenges facing knowledge-based economy in the long run and good practices in the field of e-Justice. They will also discuss the results of the Ministerial Meeting held in 2009 in Marrakech, Morocco as part of the MENA countries’ governance and investment initiative aimed at exploring the strategic options to overcome the impact of the global financial crisis and promote effective communication between the public and private sectors, which in turn will hel
p improve the business environment and open new investment opportunities in the region.

The agenda of the second day of the meeting includes a series of events highlighting the experience of Dubai eGovernment in the eTransformation process, especially the overall strategy that was adopted to achieve synchronization between centralized and decentralized methods. The participants will discuss the results of this experience at different levels.

The participants will also make presentations about the various milestones and success stories of Dubai eGovernment, such as the Government Resource Planning (GRP) System, which is one of the joint systems provided by Dubai eGovernment to help the government departments update their infrastructure necessary to manage their resources efficiently; the Government Information Network (GIN), which is the backbone for linking 50 Dubai government and semi-government entities through high speed connections, depending on an infrastructure that ensures safe and cost-effective exchange of information and smooth integration.

Dubai Customs will provide participants with detailed information about Mirsal 2, a comprehensive electronic customs declaration system, which enables customers to complete the procedures for export and import, and goods transfer online round the clock. Later, the meeting delegates will also visit Dubai Courts to know more about the eServices related to eJustice.

Ahmed Bin Humaidan, Director General of Dubai eGovernment, said: “Dubai is hosting the sixth meeting in its capacity as the head of the working group assigned to handle the theme “eGovernment and Administrative Simplification”, at a time when the global financial crisis has posed several challenges at both the domestic and international levels. Hence, we are looking to review our strategic plans and modify them in line with the global economic developments, which in turn will help us support the implementation of Dubai Strategic Plan 2015.”

“Through this event, OECD aims to provide an ideal platform for experts in the region to discuss ways to develop general policies, promote infrastructure investments related to the communication and information technology sector and explore opportunities to strengthen the role of eGovernments in addressing the consequences of the global financial crisis, particularly due to the fact that the projects launched by the eGovernments have played a vital role in supporting regulatory reforms, promoting transparency within the government, upgrading the public services provided to customers at the lowest costs and tackling challenges that hinder development plans. These projects have also effectively contributed to spreading corporate governance principles and have helped governments develop their economies optimally,” he added.

“As part of our vision to enhance the effectiveness of the sustainable development process in Dubai and the UAE, we are keen to explore the prospects of joint cooperation with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the MENA countries. This will also help attract more local, regional and foreign investments, support economic growth, create more job opportunities and contribute to greater stability in the region,” Bin Humaidan pointed out.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is an international organization which works under the umbrella of the United Nations and brings together a group of developed countries that adopt the principles of democracy and free market economy. The Organisation provides a setting where governments compare political experiences, co-ordinate local and international policies and study the nature of social changes and the developments related to trade, environment, agriculture, technology and taxes.

During a meeting held by the “Governance for Development in Arab Countries Initiative” in Istanbul, Turkey, in February 2004, it was agreed to select six themes for development in the Arab countries. In April of the same year, Dubai was selected to chair the working group assigned to the second theme of “eGovernment and Administrative Simplification”, which was co-chaired by Italy and Korea. The first meeting of the group was held in Dubai in 2005.

- GREATER TAX TRANSPARENCY FOR BUSINESSES -

15 March 2010, Manama: A Bahrain–United Kingdom (UK) Double Taxation Agreement (BAH-UK-DTA), signed on March 10th, will further enhance financial and economic cooperation between the two countries encouraging greater trade and joint investment, said Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa, Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB).

The BAH-UK-DTA ensures the elimination of double taxation on income and capital gains for enterprises operating in both countries.  Signed by H.E. Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Bahrain’s Minister of Finance, and H.E. Jamie Bowden OBE, British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain, the agreement is part of continued efforts by the two countries to extend their economic treaty network.  It adds to the already signed Treaty of Friendship, Agreement for the Promotion and Protection of Investments, and Memorandum of Understanding on Economic and Technical Cooperation. 

Shaikh Mohammed said: “This agreement is testament to Bahrain’s open, transparent approach to good governance, business and investment and to our commitment to bolstering cooperation in exchanging information with other countries including the United Kingdom.  Bahrain has historic links with the UK; we are both well established financial centres and this agreement reflects the keenness of our two countries to further strengthen business ties”. 

“It will help to create a platform for foreign investment in the Bahrain economy and for Bahrain companies to benefit from the opportunity to expand into overseas markets.  It is another step in creating the framework that will allow for a dynamic private sector in Bahrain, one that will be the engine of future economic growth to help achieve the ambitions of Vision 2030 and the National Economic Strategy.”

Bahrain’s Vision 2030 and National Economic Strategy are designed to drive the private sector as an engine of growth, support further diversification of the economy and ultimately elevate national living standards by creating greater opportunities for all Bahrainis. 

The BAH-UK-DTA joins 27 existing signed Agreements on the Avoidance of Double Taxation; this number could soon be bolstered by a further 11 other such agreements which have been concluded by the Ministry of Finance and are awaiting signature.  It is one of 16 DTAs signed by Bahrain which comply with the standard on Exchange of Tax Information, set by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and endorsed by the G20 at its summit in London, April 2009.  These are with key trading partners across the MENA region such as Jordan, Morocco and Syria, and internationally with the likes of China, France and Singapore.

The strong progress made by Bahrain in the past year on the issue of transparency and exchange of tax information has been recognised by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (GFTEI)   In its international ranking of the progress made in implementing the internationally agreed standard on exchange of tax information, the GFTEI last year promoted Bahrain to rank alongside leading financial centres such as the UK and United States.

On signing the BAH-UK-DTA, H.E. Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa said: “Bahrain is continuing to focus on strengthening cooperation with other countries across the globe in areas including finance, economy and investment. Through key talks, bilateral and multilateral agreements, as well as memoranda of understanding – which provides a legal framework for this cooperation – Bahrain is enhancing its competitiveness as a well-diversified and growing economy.”

Ambassador Bowden said; “This is the latest indication of the close ties between two key centres of international finance, the UK and Bahrain.  The elimination of double taxation on income and capital gains in each other’s countries is a positive step towards facilitating investment.”

As well as the BAH-UK-DTA Bahrain’s tax treaty network includes agreements with several Asian countries including China and Malaysia, European countries  such as France and the Netherlands, MENA countries such as Egypt and Jordan, OECD members such as Belgium and Turkey, and financial centres such as Luxembourg and Singapore. The tax treaty network with these countries is supported by bilateral investment treaties which promote and protect investments.  The Kingdom has also signed bilateral investment treaties with other countries including India, Italy and the USA, and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with trading partners such as the USA and Singapore.