Message from the top: Hamad Buamim, president and CEO, Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Since it was established in 1965, Dubai Chamber has been an advocate for the UAE’s private sector and serves as a vital bridge between business and government. In this time of crisis, the chamber is cognisant of its responsibility towards the business community and has implemented a number of initiatives in recent days to help businesses on logistical, economic and humanitarian grounds. The chamber has pledged Dhs10m to the Community Solidarity Fund Against Covid-19, with our focus on providing logistical and humanitarian assistance to blue collar workers who have finished their projects but do not have the financial means to go back home.

These workers are the backbone of our private sector and their situation has economic, social, and health aspects to it. We believe supporting them will help mitigate the impact of coronavirus for businesses. We are also focused on strengthening public-private partnerships to enhance the competitiveness of the business environment in the emirate. The chamber is leveraging its partnerships to facilitate top tier discussions.

For instance, we brought together food supply chain stakeholders and the Ministry of Economy to address important issues around food security.

Dubai Chamber is also helping to lead the way in keeping business running smoothly and efficiently during this evolving situation due to our preparedness for smart transformation. With the recent launch of its electronic attestation service, Dubai Chamber now has 98 per cent of its core services available online, with other smart offerings covering membership, licencing, certificates, legal, and business intelligence.

These services – among many others – are available on a variety of platforms that include application and website, as well as at smart booths located across Dubai. Dubai Chamber is also committed to doing as much as it can to support the federal and local governments’ prudent measures to deal with this crisis.

We launched our ‘Be Safe. Work Smart’ remote working initiative to complement the UAE’s #stayhome movement. The campaign, which forms part of national efforts to halt the spread of this virus, supports the guidelines outlined by the World Health Organization and encourages the private sector to conduct its work from home wherever possible.

On this note, I would like to reiterate that Dubai Chamber remains committed to supporting the business community and at the same time ensuring the safety of its stakeholders by responsibly adhering to the preventive measures put in place by the government.

I firmly believe that this too shall pass and we will emerge stronger and more united as a community.

Please stay safe.