Jean Lou Blachier, president of the Groupement du Patronat Francophone visited the UAE with a delegation led by Aurélie Serel, Head of communication and Houssam Nasrawin, Head of the Middle East and Investor Relations.

The delegation met with UAE officials including H.E. Mr. Hamad Buamim, President and CEO of the Dubai Chamber. During the meeting, Mr. Buamim reaffirmed the interest of the Dubai Chamber in working with French speaking countries, emphasizing all the previous successful actions that have already been achieved by the Dubai Chamber with member states of La Francophonie. ’’The country is a hub for French speaking countries to penetrate the African and Middle Eastern regions. We will continue to work with UAE local partners to build on that strong relationship and support companies in the 88 Francophone states to explore new markets. The Dubai Chamber is a privileged partner for that purpose'' said Jean Lou Blachier.

Jean Lou Blachier also met with H.E. Fahad Al Gergawi, CEO of the Dubai FDI. Mr. Al Gergawi underlined the leadership position of Dubai among the world's preferred destinations for international investors, ranked third globally in attracting greenfield foreign direct investments. Jean Lou Blachier conveyed his satisfaction in Dubai’s strategy success and mentioned it as an example of resilience to cope with the world’s economic crisis. ’’Under the visionary leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Dubai has implemented ambitious long term initiatives to fight the global pandemic’’.

The Groupement du Patronat Francophone met with several business leaders including investment firms, local companies as well as the company members of the association. Aurélie Serel stressed the role played by member companies of the GPF in the UAE to build bridges between Francophone countries and the UAE. ‘’They are the cement that bind the economic Francophonie to the UAE’’.

The GPF was a partner of a conference organized by the French Embassy in the UAE and the French pavilion at the Expo2020 about Francophonie. The round table ''The role played by the French language in economic ties’’ gathered some GPF representatives. Several speakers took part in the event, including Jean Lou Blachier, Houssam Nasrawin and Tam Oumarkatar, CEO of Capsule Corp, a company member of the GPF. Houssam Nasrawin, Head of the Middle East, concluded the round table by highlighting that the UAE is an associated member of La Francophonie, and France and the UAE have deep-rooted business and friendship ties. ‘’ French is the second language spoken for business in the world and the UAE is an international hub, offering access to Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. It is also the most advanced country in the region in terms of business regulation and infrastructure. It is therefore obvious for the GFP to establish a representative office in the country’’. H.E Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh, the Cultural Adviser to the President of the UAE and the Chancellor of UAE University and H.E Xavier Chatel, Ambassador of France to the UAE also participated in the conference.

About the Groupement du Patronat Francophone

The Groupement du Patronat Francophone is a French association meant to promote business initiatives between all French speaking countries and Francophile countries.

The Groupement du Patronat Francophone is the largest union of employers of La Francophonie. The GPF is active in 88 countries to develop business relations between French speaking countries, by mainly fostering entrepreneurship initiatives, supporting investments, and encouraging international trades. The GPF has also opened its doors to companies from Francophile countries, including all public and private entities that have an interest in doing business with French speaking countries.

French is today the fifth most widely spoken language on the planet and the second for business, representing 300 million people. French is also the second business language of the European Area and the third global business language in the world.

More about the Groupement du Patronat Francophone: http://www.gpf-int.org/   

Contact:
Contact@gpf-int.org