Angola’s trade delegation came to Dubai Industrial City (DI) to investigate collaboration prospects as part of the West African country’s ambition to push industrialization and build a manufacturing hub.
Abu Alshawareb said, “Thanks to its strategic location on the Arabian Gulf, Dubai has long acted as a trade gateway for African countries looking to export their products to the wider Middle East. There are currently more than 21,000 African companies operating in Dubai, a number that has increased by more than 25 percent over the past four years.”
As the two leaders discussed the importance of food security, Abu Alshawareb highlighted the important role DI is playing in helping the UAE fulfil its long-term objectives in that area. “Dubai Industrial City works closely with the Ministry of Environment and Food Security in the UAE, and has a dedicated zone for F&B. We have more than 23.5 million sq. ft. of land dedicated to the F&B sector and provide an agile and flexible environment for companies to reach two-thirds of the world’s population in eight hours.”
Fernandes said, “We wanted to see what we can learn here that could help us accelerate our own country’s economic growth. I can see that there are many opportunities here to facilitate trade and investment between Angola and the UAE.
“Restructuring the economy is one of our main areas of focus and there are several lessons that we can take away from the UAE in this regard, as a country that has successfully diversified its economy away from a dependence on oil.”
The delegation was welcomed by Saud Abu Alshawareb, Managing Director of DI, who gave an overview of the business district’s leading role in driving the growth of an advanced and sustainable manufacturing sector in the UAE. The delegation was led by Victor Francisco dos Santos Fernandes, Minister of Trade and Industry.
Abu Alshawareb gave the team a tour of DI’s facilities and partner case studies and an explanation of how the district is contributing to Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030, which aims to turn the emirate into a global hub for knowledge-based, sustainable, and innovative businesses. DI is trying to strengthen the capacities of FMCG and machinery and equipment, two of the six sectors Dubai is seeking to develop under this vision.
The visiting team also went on a tour of two food and beverage enterprises in DI: Asmak seafood processing and Anorka Food Industries.
Senior Asmak management gave Abu Alshawareb and Fernandes a guided tour of the factory, which handles locally caught and imported fish and shrimp at the Asmak site, a seafood processing and logistical hub. The region’s largest seafood processing facility performs a wide range of fish processing tasks, including deboning and smoking salmon.
The facility, which opened earlier this year for over AED 200 million, has the capacity to process, store, and distribute a fourth of the UAE’s seafood consumption.
The Angolan group was welcomed by Belal Mohamad AlHamwi, CEO of Anorka Food Industries, who toured them around the facility’s roastery and coffee bean processing sections during their visit to Dubai Industrial City.
Anorka Food Industries is a coffee company that sells ‘Made in UAE’ coffee and coffee-based beverages to a number of countries, including Canada. Under the City Cafe brand, the plant produces Italian coffee brand Unospresso, American coffee brand Uno Cafe, as well as ice coffee, instant coffee, and juices.
