New French Trade Commissioner In The UAE And Regional Director To Oversee Business France In The Middle East

From September 1st 2019, Frederic Szabo has been appointed as the new French Trade Commissioner in the United Arab Emirates and Regional Director of Business France in the Middle East.

In his new role, Mr Frederic Szabo will be heading the expansion of French companies by boosting French exports in the region, promoting France as a prime location for investments and leading customized supports to attract Middle Eastern investors to France.

As of now, Frederic Szabo will be based in the regional headquarter of Business France Middle East, in Dubai and will be covering 11 countries: GCC, Egypt, Pakistan, Iraq, but also Jordan & Lebanon through local partners.

To boost economic bilateral relations and strenghten business ties between France and the countries of the region, Business France organized last year 60 profesional events including French pavilions on btob trade shows, bringing around 1 600 companies yearly. Business France also supported 10 investment projects wich resulted of more than 300 job creations in France, including the acquisition of an industrial site worth 50 milion euros and maintaining a hundred jobs.

Frederic Szabo, Business France Director in the Middle East commented: “I am delighted to face new exiting challenges in the Middle East and eager to work with an expert and dedicated Business France team in the UAE and the region, along with the French embassies and our Team France partners to strengthen and increase the French exports but also to draw more middle eastern investments to France. Indeed, 75% of CAC 40 companies are already based in the region, it’s a powerful force that shows the way to smaller businesses such as SMEs hold 81% of establishments in France, and I’m keen on supporting the finest selection of them that will be served  and  introduced to myriad of unique and cutting edge services.”

As of now, Frederic Szabo will manage a regional consultancy unit spread over 6 offices (Dubai, Jeddah, Riyadh, Kuwait City, Cairo, Doha) and organized by sector of activity:

Industry & Cleantech / Lifestyle & Healthcare / AgriFood / Tech & services / Inward Investments / Media & Communications / International internship programs.

Last year, French exports to the GCC amounted 12 bilion euros mainly in mechanical equipments, electrical materials, IT, chemical products, cosmetics & perfumes, agrifood products and pharmaceuticals. KSA remained France’s first commercial outlet in the GCC.

Frederic Szabo previously served in similar functions for 5 years in People’s Republic of China, in Shanghai. He also conducted missions within the European Commission in Turkey (Turkish Chambers Development Program) and Brazil (AL Invest II) in the frame of industry modernization and internationalization capacity building programs.

From 2003 to 2006, Frederic Szabo joined the International Finance Corporation, member of the World Bank Group in Morocco (Rabat) as Private Sector Development Manager for North Africa to build capacity reinforcement programs. He also held many managing positions as director of international business development within French Chambers of Commerce and Industry, in France by promoting SME’s exports and international development on foreign markets.