Yesterday, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Jewelry Trade Mission, comprised of members of 14 UAE jewelry companies, co-organized by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade (MoFT) and the Dubai Gold & Jewelry Group, concluded its trip to the JCK Las Vegas 2012 Jewelry Show. Throughout the show, the UAE delegates met with key individuals in the global jewelry industry.

The show features over 2,500 jewelry brands, individual designers, and manufacturers providing one stop shopping for vendors and retailers alike. The broad range of products offered include trendsetting designs, the high-end bridal and fashion designs, to upscale watch collections such as Tag Heuer, Breitling, Hublot, Swatch, Gucci and more.

Over 20,000 individuals from around the world attended the show, and exhibitor pavilions included Germany, Hong Kong, India, Thailand, and China, among others.  MoFT hosted a welcome reception and briefing for the group on the first day of the mission and had an organized tour of the exhibition. A luncheon hosted by the UAE Embassy and the US-UAE Business Council on June 2nd offered a venue to facilitate new relations between retailers and vendors exhibiting at the show and the Trade Mission delegates.

Mr. Mohammad Hamdan Al Zaabi, Director of Trade Promotion at the Ministry of Foreign Trade, Mr. Talal Al Kaissi, Chief of Staff and Advisor to the Commercial Counselor at the UAE Embassy, and Mr. Biju Joy, General Manager at the Dubai Gold & Jewelry Group, accompanied the delegates to Las Vegas. Each also spoke at the luncheon, highlighting the trade relationship between the UAE and the United States and the jewelry industry in the UAE.

“This is the UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade’s first such trade mission to the US and hopefully the beginning of many more. The jewelry industry is definitely one of the sectors in the UAE we would like to continue to promote in external markets and focus our efforts on growing,” said Mr. Al Zaabi.

Mr. Al Kaissi spoke about the UAE Embassy in Washington DC, and their effort in supporting the Ministry of Foreign Trade in promoting and further enhancing the bilateral trade relationship between the US and the UAE with partners like the US-UAE Business Council through trade missions and outreach events.

Mr. Joy, who manages the Gold and Jewelry Group in Dubai and is compromised of 600 members in the industry, addressed the group and gave an overview on the UAE’s strengths in the Jewelry industry to the audience at the lunch that was attended by around 80 individuals including global industry representatives as well as US companies interested in exploring the UAE market.

One of the UAE Delegates in attendance, Mr. Adel Al Fardan gave the audience some insight into the UAE’s pearl industry, which was a key interest to many individuals present and a prevalent focus area at the exhibition.

The Ministry of Foreign Trade will continue to promote the UAE jewelry industry through the organization of such trade missions to various countries in future months and years.

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About the United Arab Emirates

The UAE is a source of stability, tolerance, innovation, and growth in the Arabian Gulf and around the globe. The United States and the UAE are reliable allies, with historical and present-day shared security and economic interests. In fact, the UAE is the largest export market for US goods in the Middle East and more US naval vessels visit UAE ports than any other port outside the United States. The United States and the UAE also enjoy growing social and cultural ties, and many US institutions in education, healthcare and the arts have formed collaborative partnerships with UAE entities.

About the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council

The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council is a progressive business advocacy organization solely committed to the advancement of the trade and commercial relationship between the United States and the United Arab Emirates. The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council provides its diverse membership unparalleled access to senior decision makers in business and government in the U.A.E. and in the U.S. The Business Council actively works to ensure that the U.S. and U.A.E. remain attractive destinations for foreign direct investment by conducting effective policy advocacy, undertaking various trade promotion initiatives, providing ongoing updates on the business climate in both countries, and helping develop strategic relationships between U.S. and U.A.E. business and government officials.

Launched in May 2007, the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council was inaugurated by His Highness, Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness, Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and is comprised of nearly 100 members from a broad range of U.S. and U.A.E. commercial sectors.

About Dubai Gold & Jewelry Group

Formed with the support of the Dubai Department of Economic Development in 1996, The Dubai Gold & Jewelry Group (DGJG) is a non- profit trade group for the Dubai jewelry industry with around 600 members representing all sectors of the trade, including bullion, manufacturing, wholesale & retail. The Group has since then evolved into a prestigious trade body committed to developing and sustaining Dubai’s status as the ‘City of Gold’ and ‘The Jewelry Destination of the World’.

DGJG works closely with Dubai Municipality to ensure that Dubai maintains its standards of providing quality jewelry to its consumers. Apart from promoting the gold & jewelry trade in the local market through promotions such as Dubai Shopping Festival and Dubai Summer Surprises, internationally, the Group gives its members an opportunity to exhibit their products through the ‘Dubai Pavilion’ which is hosted in leading international jewelry exhibitions. It also organizes the ‘City of Gold Conference’ which has brought international attention on Dubai’s positioning as the City of Gold. DGJG further represents the interests of the trade through various associations with government organizations. Its Board of Directors includes representations from Dubai Central Labs (Dubai Municipality), Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment, which is part of the Department of Economic Development.