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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-09-25 Daily Xml
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Dubai Trade and Investment Office

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (15:03): My question is to the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. Can the minister share with the council news of the planned South Australian government trade and investment office in Dubai?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) (15:03): I thank the honourable member for his question and his ongoing interest in expanding our global footprint. The Marshall Liberal government is committed to creating jobs by boosting South Australia's inbound investment, international trade and supporting our exporters. We have committed $12.8 million to establish South Australian trade and investment offices in key overseas markets, and we have already opened trade offices covering the key markets of China and North Asia, and we will open offices in both Houston, Texas, and Dubai in the Middle East early next year.

The Middle East and North Africa region, known as the MENA region, is a well-known logistics hub and a centre for global trade, making it an important growth opportunity for our state. We already have direct flights between Adelaide and Dubai and Doha to grow our exports and bring visitors to our shores. Nearly $305 million has been invested from the UAE into South Australia since 2003, creating over 500 direct jobs, and South Australian companies have invested around $166 million into that region.

Interestingly, the South Australian Space Industry Centre (SASIC) and the Australian Space Agency also have active MOUs with the UAE Space Agency that focus on industrial R&D collaboration, academic and research exchanges and the capacity building to drive growth in the space industry.

On 13 September, I had the honour of speaking at an event cohosted by the Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry, DFAT and Austrade and heard insights from Mr Arthur Spyrou, the Australian ambassador to Abu Dhabi; Mr Jonathan Muir, the Australian ambassador to Doha; and Mr Ian Halliday, the consul general in Dubai and the general manager of MENA for Austrade. All three gentlemen said they couldn't wait for South Australia to establish our office in Dubai, and that they would give their support to the South Australian initiatives in the region.

At the event, I announced that recruitment of the Dubai director is now open and that we plan to have the Dubai office fully functioning well before the Dubai Expo 2020, which will be held in October next year. The expo will coincide with the 50th anniversary of the founding of the United Arab Emirates, will be the first world expo to take place in the Middle East, North Africa or South Asia and is expecting 25 million visitors from 180 countries. This gives South Australian companies the perfect opportunity to showcase their capabilities, products and services to the region, and our office will be there to support them in all of these opportunities.

Of course, another major event coming up in the region is the FIFA World Cup in 2022 in Qatar, and I am sure our Dubai office will be working to create opportunities for South Australian businesses to showcase their products and services on a global stage. The Dubai office will be vital in supporting South Australian companies looking to expand into the Middle East and North Africa region and will provide a valuable resource for companies based there that are looking for opportunities to trade with or invest in South Australia. Our growing network of international trade offices increases our state government's capacity to offer real business and investment opportunities to our exporters, and in doing so to generate more wealth and jobs for South Australians.

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