Kizad drums up support from German investors

Kizad is encouraging German investors to set up shop in the industrial zone. Christopher Pike / The National

Abu Dhabi’s industrial zone is pulling out all the stops to encourage German investors to set up shop and diversify the capital’s economy away from oil.

“Investors should see the UAE as a partner that offers a strategic location and access to the wider region that enjoys high purchasing power and a growing population,” said the Khaled Salmeen, chief executive and managing director at Kizad, the capital’s industrial free zone.

“We would like to see Kizad as a platform for knowledge transfer and producing high-quality product – essential to Abu Dhabi’s growth and diversification drive.

Mr Salmeen’s statements came on the sidelines of the sixth annual German Industry Day and after Emirati policymakers and individuals from the private sector headed to Germany to attend Hannover Messe, the world’s biggest trade fair for industrial technology.

“Emiratis are making long-term investments in Germany in manufacturing, financial services, real estate and renewable energy,” said Mohammed Omar Abdullah, undersecretary of the Department of Economic Development. “Germany can be undoubtedly categorised as Europe’s economic engine, in the same way the UAE can be categorised as the region’s business hub.”

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