Dubai, Oman expo opens doors for Thai SMEs
A MEMORANDUM of understanding signed recently by the Thailand Business Council in Dubai and the northern United Arab Emirates (TBC) and the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP) is paving the way for more trade by Thai SMEs in the Middl
Akavut Tangsilikusonwong, chairman of the TBC, said the organisation had formed an alliance through the MoU with Salinee Wangtal, director-general of OSMEP. This was authorised by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha and Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak to strengthen the competitiveness of Thai SMEs in the international market as well as to seek new markets.
OSMEP considers the UAE and Oman to have high economic potential and play vital roles as a springboard to other markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and elsewhere in the Middle East, and to further trade in Africa, another sizeable consumer market.
The implementation of the key content of the MoU began with business matching for more than 30 Thai SMEs in Dubai on May 7 and the entry of Thai goods and services in the Oman market on May 9-13.
The business matching was in nine categories: household appliances and home furnishings; consumer goods and fashions; healthcare and supplementary nutrition; spa and beauty products; food; jewellery and accessories; energy; educational services; and packaging services. The 110 buyers consisted of importers, distributors, investors and agents. The activity at the Holiday Inn in Al Barsha, Dubai, on
May 7 was co-sponsored by Dubai SME, a governmental organisation tasked with promoting the economic development of Dubai, and the TBC.
The initial value of orders gained from the event was more than Bt50 million from products and services such as fruits (including coconut), children’s clothing, herbal and health products, fashion and jewellery, and educational services.
Later, these Thai SMEs took the same nine product categories to the OSMEP Pavilion at “Thai Trade Exhibition Oman” at the Oman International Exhibition Centre SAOC in Muscat. The trade days were May 9 and 10, while the remaining three days of the expo from May 11 to 13 were for the general public. More than 1,000 buyers participated in the event and it generated more than Bt1 billion worth of export revenue.
