RAK FTZ TEAMs TAKE To ThE sTREETs - Ras Al Khaimah Free ...

33
INTL OFFICES
RAK Free Trade Zone
International Offices
India: Positioning RAK FTZ
as a Centre of Excellence
for the Indian Business
Community
The RAK FTZ India Liason Office in Mumbai, led by Bissoon Surnam, is
very active on both the marketing and sales fronts and regularly conducts
intensive campaigns, including road shows, in the major cities and
metropolitan areas of India - Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore,
Chennai, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Indore, Lucknow,
Ludhiana to name just a few.
In the past year, 25 road shows were organised all over India, with one
attended by around 200 businessmen who participated in interactive B2B
meetings with RAK FTZ representatives.
Additionally, the Liaison Office organises inward delegations, which bring
Indian businessmen to RAK FTZ on two-day, fact-finding missions. The
main objective of these inward missions, including visits to the Free Zone’s
Business, Industrial and Technology Parks, is to enable the delegates to
get an up-close look at RAK FTZ and the various opportunities it offers
and develop a clearer picture of the prevailing business environment and
investment climate.
With a view to attract more FDI from India, the Liaison Office has also
developed good working relationships with the most prominent trade
bodies and institutions in India, namely the Confederation of Indian
Industries, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, the Gem &
Jewellery Export Promotion Council, and the Associated Chambers of
Commerce & Industry of India, amongst others.
The RAK FTZ India Liaison Office endeavours to act as a convenient stop,
where Indian businessmen interested in registering a company with the
Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone can get all the information and assistance
they require. If you are interested in participating in one of one of our
events in India or one of the missions to Ras Al Khaimah, please contact
RAK FTZ India Liason Office on india@rakftz.com.
Bissoon Surman speaking
at the Special Economic
Zones Conference in India
Germany: The Fifth Season
While well-known carnivals are held in many southern German cities
and in the Rhineland cities of Mainz, Aachen, Bonn and Düsseldorf, the
biggest and zaniest ‘Rhine Karneval’, in Germany, or for that matter in all
of Europe, is held in Köln (Cologne). Köln is not only the fourth largest and
oldest city in Germany, and the most important economic and industrial
centre in the state of North-Rhine Westphalia, but also the location of the
RAK FTZ office in Europe.
The carnival period, called the Fifth Season, is officially ‘opened’ at 11
minutes past 11 on the 11th of November and continues, fairly low-key,
for about three months, before coming to a climax on Weiberfastnacht
and Rosenmontag.
On Weiberfastnacht (women`s carnival night) it is a tradition for women
to cut off the tie of any man within reach, and women also take control
of the city hall on that day.
More than one million people go to the Rosenmontag parade in Köln
every year, and many more watch the festivities on TV. The parade consists
of floats that try to be beautiful and also represent satirical and political
topics. Dressed in costumes, people line the streets to cheer the floats and
the marching carnival bands, and tonnes of sweets are thrown into the
crowds, while everybody sings traditional carnival songs.
Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the Christian Lent leading
up to Easter, marks the end of the Fifth Season and the street carnival.
According to a study by the Boston Consulting Group, ‘Karneval’ in Köln has
an important social and economic impact on the city. Around 1.5m Euros
are donated to charities every year during the carnival period. In addition,
5000 jobs in Köln and the surrounding region depend on the annual
festivities during the Fifth Season. The carnival also plays an important role
in business networking, and many companies use visits to these events with
clients to intensify customer relations. An active commitment to carnival is
seen as an element of corporate social responsibility.
During this carnival season, the RAK FTZ Cologne office team wishes everyone:
KÖLLE ALAAF (phrase used to greet people during the Fifth Season).
INTL OFFICES
Turkey: Gulay Avici heads
the RAK FTZ office in Turkey
Gulay Avci was brought up and educated in Turkey. She has a BA in
History from Middle East Technical University. After working several years
for Emirates Airlines in Dubai, she joined the RAK FTZ sales team at The
Fairmont Dubai hotel in 2005.
Since 2007, she has been the Regional Manager of RAK FTZ’s office in
Istanbul. In this function, she brings investors from Turkey to RAK FTZ
through various business events and exhibitions, and she has close
contacts with business associations and chambers of commerce in Turkey.
Gulay can be contacted on turkey@rakftz.com, for business opportunities
at RAK Free Trade Zone.
RAK FTZ Regional
Manager, Turkey,
Gulay Avci
34