Sheikh Mohammed visits SOUQ’s New Fulfilment Centre in Dubai

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, said that the UAE’s ability to offer a conducive environment for investments from across the world combined with its strategic geographic location and easy access to emerging markets has cemented its position as a destination of choice for international companies seeking to tap the region.

Sheikh Mohammed said that Dubai’s collaboration with foreign investors is a continuous process. Dubai is committed to open market policies, and to offer all facilities required to support investments and encourage companies, regardless of their size.

He said Dubai also seeks to promote healthy competition between local and foreign companies.

"We are keen to meet business owners and investors to obtain their inputs and feedback, which will allow us to further enhance our collaboration with them," he said.

His Highness commended the achievements made in attracting international firms and investments to Dubai, adding that investor confidence in the UAE economy is high.

This supports efforts to diversify the economy and cement Dubai’s position as a bridge that connects global markets.

Sheikh Mohammed also expressed his appreciation for homegrown companies that have achieved global success.

"The global accomplishments of local companies are testimony to the strong partnership between Dubai and the investment community. We are happy to see local companies becoming international success stories. Their success is our success. We spare no effort in creating a conducive environment for businesses to thrive," His Highness said.

Sheikh Mohammed’s comments came as he visited the latest Fulfilment Centre in Dubai opened by SOUQ, an Amazon company. During the visit, His Highness was given a tour of the company’s Fulfilment Centre where he was shown how customer orders are fulfilled. His Highness also witnessed a special demonstration of the latest Amazon Kindle device with Arabic functionality.

His Highness was accompanied byH.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group; 44- H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation; and H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

The new 40,000 square metre Fulfilment Centre, the first to be launched since Amazon’s acquisition of SOUQ, began its operations in September 2018 in Dubai South to help serve growing customer demand in the UAE. It is the latest example of the company’s continued investment in the UAE and its mission to be the world’s most customer centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online and have it delivered quickly and conveniently.

In addition to storing SOUQ’s subsidiaries’ inventory, the new Fulfilment Centre is also of service to thousands of sellers that use the ‘Fulfilled by SOUQ’ (FBS) services to store, pick, pack and deliver their products. ‘Fulfilled by SOUQ’ enables many thousands of sellers to have SOUQ store and ship their products directly to customers to ensure timely delivery, while offering services such as Cash on Delivery, Next-Day Delivery and Friday home delivery.

With FBS, SOUQ also provides customer service and manages returns on behalf of SOUQ sellers so that they can focus on growing their businesses rather than logistics.

Sellers have the flexibility to choose the number of products they want to have fulfilled by SOUQ and scale according to their business requirements.

During the visit, Sheikh Mohammed stressed the importance of enhancing Dubai’s status as a business-friendly global hub and creating new economic opportunities. Sharing his views on the visit, Khalifa Suhail Al Zaffin, Executive Chairman, Dubai Aviation City Corporation (DACC) and Dubai South, said, "We are proud to be attracting leading companies like SOUQ, an Amazon company, into Dubai South, which demonstrates both the potential and investment that the emirate has placed into companies that are fully focused on further growing their businesses. Rest assured that we remain steadfast in our continuing efforts to reinforce Dubai's leading position in the region while also playing a key role in improving the skills of the UAE's workforce."

Ronaldo Mouchawar, CEO of SOUQ, said, "We are honoured to be visited by His Highness today and showcase another milestone on our journey here in the Middle East. Entrepreneurship is an engine of economic growth globally, so we are proud to play our role in empowering the many small and medium sized businesses that sell through our Marketplace, as well as providing our customers access to millions of products. Furthermore, over 600 new jobs will be created within the first year of operation of this Fulfilment Centre. In addition to the benefits we are providing to our customers and sellers, we are proud to contribute to Dubai’s position as a global business hub to allow the UAE to vie with the best all over the world."

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