Dubai Chambers and Assolombarda Sign Agreement to Expand UAE-Italy Business Links

DUBAI, 2 October 2026 — Dubai Chambers has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Assolombarda, Italy’s largest regional business association, to expand trade, investment and institutional cooperation between Dubai and one of Italy’s major industrial regions.

Assolombarda represents around 7,000 companies across Milan, Lodi, Monza and Brianza, and Pavia. The new agreement is designed to facilitate business connections, delegation visits, joint events and the exchange of expertise between companies in Dubai and Assolombarda’s membership base.

The MoU was signed during a business seminar at Dubai Chambers attended by 80 representatives from companies operating in Dubai and Assolombarda member firms. A 33-company Italian delegation participated in the event.

The commercial backdrop is substantial. Dubai Chambers said non-oil trade between Dubai and Italy reached AED51.1 billion in 2025, an increase of 18% compared with 2024.

The number of Italian companies registered as active members of Dubai Chamber of Commerce reached 1,700 by the end of 2025, representing growth of more than 400% over five years. Another 160 Italian companies joined during the first half of 2026.

The agreement includes cooperation involving the Dubai Centre for Family Businesses and the Assolombarda Family Business Network. The organisations intend to exchange best practices and support family-owned companies as they address governance, succession, technology adoption and international expansion.

Assolombarda President Alvise Biffi said the organisation plans to open an operational office in Dubai, which would create a more permanent platform for engagement with the UAE market.

The seminar also explored cooperation in industry, innovation and entrepreneurship. Participants discussed emerging technologies including agentic artificial intelligence and the role of collaboration among institutions, start-ups and investors in accelerating adoption and cross-border innovation.

For Dubai, the agreement supports a strategy of strengthening direct links with international business communities rather than relying solely on government-to-government trade relationships. Business associations can provide companies with practical market connections, sector networks and channels for identifying potential partners.

For Italian businesses, Dubai provides access not only to the UAE domestic market but also to commercial networks spanning the Gulf, Middle East, Africa and Asia. The agreement does not guarantee new investment or transactions, but it creates an institutional framework through which companies can pursue them.

With bilateral non-oil trade already above AED50 billion and the Italian corporate presence in Dubai expanding, the next measure of the partnership will be the business delegations, joint ventures, investments and commercial agreements that emerge from the new framework.