Business & Money | Sunday 7 June, 2015 6:41 am |

The Sharjah Investment and Development (Shurooq) has been named the Top Investment Promotion Agency in Middle East for this year 2015 Best to Invest Awards by Site Selection magazine, in recognition of its outstanding efforts in attracting foreign direct investments and driving Sharjah’s growth.

The Top Agency Awards recognise excellence at national and regional economic development offices globally in areas such as responsiveness, knowledge and linguistic diversity, online access to incentives information, respect for investor confidentiality and after-care services on yearly basis.

The winning agencies were carefully selected by a distinguished group of editors, location consultants, and foreign direct investment experts from the award-winning magazine—the official publication of Red Hot Locations, the Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC) and the FDI Association.

Speaking about the award, Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of (Shurooq) said, “Shurooq adopts an ambitious long-term strategy to enhance Sharjah’s appeal for foreign investment, provide all the necessary facilities to attract major international firms and investors, and develop more tourist and entertainment destinations which will further boost the emirate’s leading position in various sectors.”

She added, "We are extremely proud to have been named the Top Investment Promotion Agency, a prestigious award that adds to Shurooq’s rich portfolio of milestone achievements, and serves as an incentive for the authority to continue to develop and promote Sharjah as one of world's most attractive FDI destinations."

Speaking on the key features of the Emirate, H.E Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman of Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and industry, said, "Sharjah has succeeded in establishing itself as an ideal investment destination in the region for companies wishing to take advantage of its strategic location, services and facilities to expand into regional and global markets."

HE Sultan Abdullah Bin Haddah AlSuwaidi, Chairman of Economic Development Department said: “Sharjah has become one of the region’s ideal investment destinations with high appeal for investors who benefit from the facilities and incentives offered by the emirate as well as from its unique strategic location and accessibility to regional and international markets. Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) along with the other government departments in the emirate has greatly contributed to this achievement, which was culminated with Shurooq’s win of Best Investment Promotion Agency. We are delighted to win this award, which is a triumph for the emirate of Sharjah.”

Mr Saud Salem AlMazroui, Director of AlHamriyah Free Zone Authority & Sharjah Airport Free Zone Authority congratulated Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) for winning this prestigious award, which reflects the confidence of investors from around the world in Sharjah and in the viable investment opportunities offered to them in different sectors. He stressed that the collaboration between commerce and investment government agencies in the emirate has been instrumental in achieving this success which will further boost foreign investment in the emirate and will open the door for continued partnerships with many regional and international investment agencies in Sharjah and the UAE”.

Before being named the Top Investment Promotion Agency, Shurooq was named the Banking Awards 2013 – and 2014 FDI Agency of the Year in the Middle east , in the European’s Global Banking and Finance Awards, in recognition of its overall accomplishments.

Established in 2009, Shurooq aims to achieve social, cultural, environmental and economic development on the basis of Sharjah’s distinct Arab and Islamic identity, to encourage investment by adopting the best international standards in providing quality services that help attract investors from the region and the world.

Shurooq’s key mission is to provide facilities and incentives to help overcome obstacles facing investment activities in the emirate, evaluate investment-related infrastructure projects, and lay down the necessary plans to complete such projects.