PRINCIPAL CORPORATE PARTNER
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DIFC and The Australia Gulf Council sign a Strategic
Partner Agreement
Dubai – 29 May 2012: Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the financial and business hub
connecting the region’s growth markets with the markets of Europe, Asia and the Americas,
announced a Strategic Partnership with the Australia Gulf Council (AGC). The agreement aims to
promote and facilitate trade, investment and other opportunities between Dubai and Australia.
The partnership was formalised following the Annual Investment Meeting held in Dubai earlier this
month, which was organised by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade to encourage investment
opportunities in emerging markets and high growth regions.
The AGC recognises a range of dynamic sectors for future collaboration between Australia and the
Gulf States including banking and finance, Sharia law, food and water security, and foreign
investment. According to the AGC, the GCC region represents one of Australia’s top export markets
worth AUD 8,739 million in 2010.
DIFC is a leading financial centre strategically located between the east and west, which provides a
secure and efficient platform for business and financial institutions to reach into and out of the
emerging markets of the region. The quality and range of DIFC’s independent regulation, common
law framework, supportive infrastructure and its tax-free regime make it the perfect base to take
advantage of the region’s rapidly growing demand for financial and business services.
The Strategic Partnership aims to bridge a closer network of business-to-business interactions
between Australia and the Gulf States. Linking the DIFC to 32 Corporate Members of the AGC and a
range of interested stakeholders in government and business will be the first step in leveraging the
partnership.
Jonathan Herps who is part of the AGC’s Advisory Board and His Excellency Pablo Kang, Australian
Ambassador to the UAE and Qatar attended the signing ceremony in Dubai today, along with Mr.
Abdulla Mohammed Al Awar, CEO, Dubai International Financial Centre Authority.
His Excellency Kang said: “I hope the new agreement would act as a catalyst to even further practical
cooperation between Australian business organisations and Dubai."
Commenting on this agreement, Al Awar said: “This partnership agreement comes in line with our
strategy to develop and build relationships with other key market players, further strengthening our
position as one of the world’s top financial centres. This is our second collaborative agreement with
an Australian body, which reflects our commitment to contribute towards the UAE’s economic
growth by attracting Australian companies and offering them a platform to access regional
opportunities.”
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“It is my pleasure today to sign this strategic partnership agreement with the DIFC on behalf of the
Australia Gulf Council. The new partnership presents outstanding opportunities for corporates in
DIFC to connect with corporations and financial institutions in Australia. The MoU will further
support the promotion of unexplored investment opportunities and conventional and Islamic
finance investment between Australia and the GCC region among potential investors from both
sides.” said Jonathan Herps, Member AGC Council of Distinguished Advisers.
Georgie Skipper, Board Member, AGC, said: “The Australia Gulf Council and DIFC have a number of
areas where they strategically complement each other, which we are looking forward to maximising
through our newly formed strategic partnership. In collaboration with the AGC partners and our
network of corporate leaders, our strategic partnership with DIFC will drive long term and
sustainable commercial outcomes for both our organisations”.
Over the last two years, DIFC has been strengthening its relationships with Australian entities. Two
weeks ago, DIFC signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the New South Wales Trade and
Investment, the government body responsible for driving sustainable economic growth in the state
of New South Wales, Australia, and last year, the Centre welcomed two leading Australian financial
firms, Macquarie Capital Finance (Dubai) Limited and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group
Limited (ANZ) to its community.
-- Ends --
For further inquiries on DIFC, please contact:
Dubai International Financial Centre
Shaima Al Zarouni
PR Manager
Tel: +971 4 362 2432
shaima.alzarouni@difc.ae
Brunswick Group
Dina Samhout
Tel: +971 4 446 6270
difc@brunswickgroup.com
About DIFC
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is the financial and business hub connecting the
region’s emerging markets with the developed markets of Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Since its launch in 2004, DIFC, a purposely built financial free zone, has been committed to
encouraging economic growth and development in the region through its strong financial and
business infrastructure. Currently, DIFC's client base comprises over 800 active registered firms,
including 18 of the top 25 global banks, 8 of the largest global asset managers, 6 of the 10 largest
insurers and 6 of the top 10 law firms in the world. More than 11 thousand employees operate in an
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PRINCIPAL CORPORATE PARTNER
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open environment complemented by international legal and regulatory standards. DIFC offers its
member companies benefits such as 100 per cent foreign ownership, zero per cent tax rate, with no
restriction on capital convertibility or profit repatriation. DIFC has its own independent financial and
ancillary services regulatory body, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). It also has the DIFC
Courts, which is an independent common law judiciary based in DIFC with jurisdiction over civil and
commercial disputes in or relating to the Centre.
DIFC is built upon a modern legal, regulatory and physical infrastructure which makes it the
destination of choice for Financial Services firms establishing a presence in the region.
For further information, please visit our website: www.difc.ae, or follow us on Twitter @DIFC or
@DIFCommunity.
About The Australia Gulf Council
The AGC is a peak business organisation that facilitates and nurtures relationships between the Gulf
States and Australia through our Corporate Partners and other commercial, government, non‐
government and diplomatic stakeholders.
Our mission is to facilitate increased two‐way trade and investment by representing our Corporate
Partners from Australia and the Gulf States at the highest level.
The AGC is committed to:
 Develop stronger and sustained support from governments and other stakeholders in
Australia and the Gulf States
 Identify and advocate policy priorities in areas such as food security, Free Trade Agreement,
foreign investment, live meat trade, diplomatic and trade representation, banking and finance
and law
 Facilitate and organise a programme including corporate events and in‐bound and out‐
bound business missions and delegations between Australia and the Gulf States The AGC’s
Corporate, Strategic and Honorary Partners are from a range of industries and sectors
including aviation and tourism, education, health, agriculture, financial services and banking,
legal and management services, satellite and telecommunications, construction and
engineering, general retail, food production and retail, sport, design and architecture and
property.
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