RAK FTZ hosts Turkish media delegation, showcases world-class facilities on offer
As part of its efforts to boost investments into Ras Al Khaimah and provide added impetus to trade cooperation between the UAE and Turkey, Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone (RAK FTZ) – one of the fastest-growing and most cost-effective free trade zones in the UAE – today hosted a high-level media delegation from Turkey.
The delegation, which comprised over 15 top newspaper and magazine editors from Turkey, across both print and online media, completed a four-day visit to the UAE. During the visit, the media were given a preview of the world-class facilities on offer at RAK FTZ, and how these could be beneficial for Turkish companies in their regional expansion plans.
The RAK FTZ top management also highlighted the salient advantages for Turkish businesses in setting up operations at the free zone; besides briefing them on various Turkish companies operating at RAK FTZ, such as Bam Foods, Dorian Gulf, Tiryaki, Sembol, and the burgeoning trade relations between the UAE and Turkey. Currently, there are more than 260 Turkish companies operating out of RAK FTZ.
HH Sheikh Faisal Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Chairman of RAK FTZ, who received the Turkish media delegation, said: “We are extremely happy to showcase the world-class facilities and services on offer at RAK FTZ to the Turkish media. Turkey is a strategic market for us and we are keen to develop it further. The cost effectiveness of setting up business at RAK FTZ, coupled with value-added services and easy access to do business with the neighbouring regions are the salient advantages, unmatched in the region.”
He added: “Traditionally, the UAE has enjoyed a strong and close trade relation with Turkey and this media visit will go a long way in further building the strategic trade ties. We are keen to attract small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Turkey and help them set-up business in the fastest and the easiest way at RAK FTZ.”
HH Sheikh Faisal also briefed the delegation on the strategic steps undertaken by RAK FTZ amidst the global economic upheavals, investment opportunities on offer at RAK FTZ, future plans, and industries operating at the zone, as well as the tourism potential in RAK. HE Ümit Yalçın, Consul General of Turkey in Dubai, and HE Serdar Kumbaraci, Commercial Attaché of Turkey in the UAE, were also part of the Turkish delegation during the visit to RAK FTZ.
“The visit will go a long way in building the strategic relationship that the UAE enjoys with Turkey. This mission was a great opportunity to strengthen our positioning as a business hub geared at helping SMEs set-up base in RAK FTZ and grow their presence in the Middle East, given our strategic location,” added HH Sheikh Faisal. He said that the free zone is implementing a pro-investment strategy, which is firmly rooted in the principles of free trade and in promoting entrepreneurship.
The UAE is considered the prominent logistic hub of the GCC and the Middle East; and a strategic entry market for Turkish companies. According to the most-updated statistics, the total volume of trade between the two countries is of the order of AED 10.22 billion in 2010. Of this, the import is worth nearly AED 9.1 billion, export AED 586.06 million and re-export AED 525.56 million.
Turkey, the ninth biggest economy of the world, and which boasts of a sound economy, eyes the UAE as a strategic market, with lots of Turkish companies looking at the UAE as a hub for their exports into the Far East and Africa. The main sectors of the UAE-Turkish cooperation include natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, precious metals, imitation jewellery, base metals, machinery, and mechanical and electrical appliances, among others.
