Dubai Chambers and the Ministry of Economy organize the Indian Family Business Forum

Dubai, May 5 / WAM / Dubai Chambers, in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy and Tourism and the Indian Business and Professions Council, yesterday organized the Indian Family Business Forum, with the aim of reviewing mechanisms to support the business sustainability of Indian family companies operating in Dubai, and enhancing their capabilities to develop corporate governance and adopt global best practices.

The forum, in the presence of His Excellency Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Tourism, and His Excellency Mohammed Ali Rashid Lootah, Director General of Dubai Chambers, highlighted the importance of Federal Decree Law No. 37 of 2022 regarding family businesses, as it is an essential pillar for enhancing the flexibility of the legal frameworks regulating the work of family businesses, ensuring the development of a business environment that supports their growth and expansion, and enhances their ability to adapt to economic changes.

His Excellency Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri said that family businesses are one of the most important main engines for enhancing the growth and sustainability of the national economy, and an essential pillar in supporting the country’s direction towards building a future economy based on knowledge and innovation. The forward-looking vision of the UAE has contributed to the development of an integrated legislative system that supports the family business sector, most notably the Family Business Law, which is considered a proactive and distinguished step for the UAE at the regional and global levels, as it is a pioneering legislation in its field that contributes to consolidating the continuity of these companies and enhancing their ability to grow and expand across generations.

He added that the Ministry worked, in light of this law, to launch the ‘Unified Register of Family Businesses’, which represents a comprehensive federal platform that provides a package of main services for family businesses in the country, including registering them in the register, issuing registration certificates, and filing family charters in a way that ensures continuity of management and operational processes, and in a way that contributes to establishing a sustainable business environment that supports its growth, enhances its competitiveness, and pushes it towards greater leadership regionally and globally.

His Excellency called on family businesses operating in the country to register in the unified register of family businesses and to benefit from the benefits and services it provides, in addition to the distinguished UAE business environment, which is based on flexibility, competitiveness and openness to global markets, and provides broad opportunities for growth and expansion in more than 2,000 economic activities.

He pointed out that family businesses today contribute 60% to the country’s gross domestic product, employ 80% of the workforce, and constitute about 90% of the total private companies in the country. They operate in a wide range of vital economic sectors, including the new economy, hospitality, retail, real estate, and construction, which reflects their pivotal role in supporting the process of economic diversification and enhancing the competitiveness of the national economy.

For his part, His Excellency Mohammed Ali Rashid Lootah said that family companies in Dubai enjoy a solid economic legacy based on trust and accumulated commercial experiences, stressing the keenness to support the transformation of these companies towards more advanced institutional models to keep pace with global changes and benefit from new opportunities in various sectors.

He stressed the Chambers’ commitment to enhancing the readiness of family businesses for the next stages of growth and prosperity, by enabling them to adopt the best governance practices and developing effective mechanisms to ensure business continuity across generations, thus enhancing their vital contribution to the national economy and their fundamental role in consolidating Dubai’s position as a leading global center for business and investment.

The forum attracted more than 87 participants from the business community and member companies of the Indian Business and Professions Council, and during its activities, ways of organizing the governance of family companies and facilitating leadership succession between generations were reviewed, which contributes to enhancing their stability and raising the efficiency of their operational work. Ways of developing the governance of family companies and facilitating leadership succession between generations were also discussed, which contributes to consolidating the continuity of their business with the highest levels of efficiency, in addition to discussing the importance of adopting innovative strategies that enhance the level of operational performance and raise the competitiveness of family companies over the years. Both local and global levels.

During the year 2025, the Dubai Family Business Center, which operates under the umbrella of Dubai Chambers, will launch three specialized advisory services for family businesses, including the service of assessing the current situation and reviewing the family charter, the service of drafting the family charter, and the family office planning service.

The Center also issued the first guidebook that includes an integrated register for family business consultants in Dubai, with the aim of enabling these companies to effectively and efficiently obtain specialized advisory services in vital areas related to administrative and operational axes. The guide provides an effective means of developing mechanisms for linking family businesses with specialized advisors.

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