Investors have expressed great confidence in conducting business in Dubai as it is considered as a safe haven with modern state of the art infrastructure, says a senior official of one of the world’s leading international express services provider, DHL Express.

Speaking to The Gulf Today on Thursday evening, the Country Manager for DHL Express in the UAE, Frank-Uwe Ungerer said the UAE government has always been open to new ideas that blend well with the private sectors requirements, adding that there is no red-tape bureaucracy involved. Dubai he said is far ahead than any country in the entire Mena region.

Ungerer described the UAE as a great place to do business and singled out Dubai, which by virtue of its location, has become a vital point for freight and forwarding of goods from Asia to Europe and Africa and we would certainly want to consolidate our position here.

At DHL Express, we are committed to the Middle East market and are confident in our growth opportunities in the region. We are making investments in the people, products and communities in which we operate because we see the region as a strategic growth area for DHL in long-term, added Ungerer.

At the same time, he disclosed that DHL Express has in the first quarter of this year has registered a double-digit growth in the Middle East for the second consecutive year in a row.

He noted that despite the slowdown that had affected the freight and forwarding industry during the crisis, the company still managed with an impressive performance.

Ungerer was speaking in Dubai during the launch of the second wave of DHL’s successful International Specialist advertising campaign in the UAE, which is part of the global exercise.

The second phase of the award-winning campaign features the classic “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” theme tune which was also seen in the first campaign back in October 2011 with the Speed of Yellow theme, but this time focuses on two of DHL’s most high profile partnerships - its sponsorship of Manchester United and Formula 1.Significantly, the two strands of the campaign - which can currently be seen on TVs, billboards and in print media across the UAE - both feature the UAE, with striking images of Dubai shown as part of the Manchester United advertising creative while Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island track is a prominent feature in the Formula 1 version, says Ungerer.

Such coverage of one country in a global campaign is unprecedented for DHL and reinforces the UAE’s reputation as a strategically important logistics hub, added the general manager.

The colourful event was attended by representatives from some of Dubai’s biggest import and export businesses.

The event also highlighted just why DHL is at the forefront of the international express sector by showcasing its market leading capabilities and unprecedented international expertise and connections.

Ungerer also disclosed that investment in the road express services in the region is a clear positioning statement that DHL is no longer simply an air express supplier but a provider of fully integrated and seamless logistics solutions.

He said that since DHL Express established a direct flight connecting Cincinnati and Manama, it has actually facilitated the increased trade between North America and Bahrain. DHL, he said therefore considers Bahrain hub as a key entry point into Middle East countries, and Bahrain serves as a vital connectivity point for DHL’s global network.

He revealed that the company recently introduced direct trucking services from the UAE to Iraq as it sees Iraq an emerging market. DHL was the first logistics firm to establish operations in Iraq in 2003 and has since expanded across the country with 18 service points and three main gateways.

DHL Express Iraq currently operates 117 lorries that handle on average 16,000 shipments per day, much of it servicing the oil and gas industry.

Over the last year, DHL Express has made significant investments into its global network. 2011 saw 100,000 employees complete the unique Certified International Specialists program, one of the largest training programs ever undertaken by a company, where staff revisited the entrepreneurial roots of DHL and explored the fundamentals of international shipping.

Other major investments include a US $ 47 million expansion of the DHL regional hub for the Americas region in Cincinnati and a new US $ 175 million hub in Shanghai for the North Asia region, scheduled to open in July 2012.