The US Consulate

Today we had an interactive session with the Principal Commercial Officer at the US Consulate in Dubai.  After passing through strict security we were lead into a room flying both the American Flag and the UAE Flag ( which has a vertical red stripe on the left side and then horizontal green, white and red strips.)  We were temporarily back on US soil.  We learned about US export policy in the middle east as well as the ease of doing business in this part of the world for US companies. This is a very business friendly environment for American companies, and the Commercial Officer made it clear that they are here to help us with any business issues here.  In order to do business in UAE you need to have a domestic partner. The US consulate will set up meetings with several well researched potential partners, and help you to decide which on would be the best fit.  The partnership is a 51% (UAE), 49%  (US) split with the domestic partner, but there are legal ways to obtain a "silent" partner for a relatively small fee.  Overall, we came away with an understanding of how we can develop our own businesses in this region.

We also had a lecture at the Westen Hotel by a director of the Starwoods resort chain.  We learned about the business of tourism in Dubai from the perspective of a large chain.   Even in the 2008 economic crises their hotel remained profitable and now that things have recovered they are doing very well.  We also learned about the Starwoods branding strategy and target segments in the GCC region.  As always we were met with tea, coffee, and snacks prior to our meeting, part of the more cerem  -DSJ