MALAYSIAN AND DUBAI SMEs FORGE PARTNERSHIP

By Abdul Muin Majid

DUBAI, Aug 6 (Bernama) -- Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
and their counterparts in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), especially Dubai, can
look forward to more business linkages and opportunities in the future.

This has been made possible with the signing of a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) between the Malaysia Business Council-UAE and Mohammed Bin
Rashid Establishment for SME Development (MBRE) here recently.

MBRE chief executive officer Abdul Baset Al Janahi and Malaysia Business
Council president Abdul Hakim Asmaun inked the MoU for their respective
organisations, witnessed by Malaysian ambassador to the UAE, Yahaya Abdul Jabar.

According to Al Janahi, SMEs accounted for up to 98.5 per cent of Dubai's
companies and 61 per cent of the total workforce.

"Many people only see the so-called 'big boys'. But we have so many SMEs
here who may one day become big boys themselves," he said during the signing
ceremony.

MBRE, he added, supported UAE nationals keen on developing their own
businesses, including by removing certain obstacles and building linkages
between the entrepreneurs and the public and private sectors.

Yahaya said the MoU would give further impetus towards enhancing trade and
economic activities between Malaysia and UAE, particularly Dubai.

The envoy expressed hope that the MoU would play a part in facilitating the
entry of more Malaysian companies in the UAE.

Malaysian trade consul in Dubai, Dzulkifli Mahmud, described the MoU
as a win-win arrangement.

"We're hopeful that Malaysian SMEs can enter this market while local SMEs
here can get reputable suppliers and exporters from Malaysia. And since both
sides are export-ready, it'll be easier for us to match these businesses," he
said.

Dzulkifli said the MoU may also translate into Malaysian companies making
inroads in procuring government contracts here.

The trade consul said Malaysian SMEs with expertise in information and
communications technology (ICT) may find a lot of opportunities here, including
in e-government initiatives and banking.

Malaysian SMEs seeking local partners to assemble certain products here may
also benefit from the MoU, he said.

Dzulkifli said it opened the door for Dubai SMEs to develop further by
gaining access to technical and vocational training programmes offered by
related institutions in Malaysia.
-- BERNAMA