Story received courtesy of Saratoga Economic Deveopment Corp.
At the Saratoga EDC the focus has consistently
been three overarching principles
that work in conjunction to achieve vital
goals: attraction, retention and job creation.
In pursuit of these goals staff members
from SEDC, along with a diverse group of
individuals from around the capital region,
ventured to the United Arab Emirates to
form new business relationships, reacquaint
ourselves with previous partners, and learn
about opportunities for growth.
From day one the delegation experienced
firsthand the abundance of innovation,
growth and the overall economic impact
Abu Dhabi and Dubai are experiencing.
From better understanding global leaders’
interests and investments, to opening opportunities
for manufacturers/distributors
to export, each day was spent deepening a
knowledge of how the UAE is thriving, and
how that example can be brought back to
Saratoga County.
Several participants from the delegation
walked away with a renewed understanding
of how this new knowledge could impact
their business in the United States. Rajat
Ghoshal, vice president of Polyset Co. Inc.,
said not only could establishing new relationships
in the UAE assist Polyset’s efforts to
market products abroad, but also increase
sales locally.
Ghoshal said “relationships that already
existed were strengthened by the bond of our
odyssey. Especially with the representatives
from SEDC and the Saratoga Chamber of
Commerce, the opportunity to learn more
about each other on a personal level was
invaluable.”
Michael Relyea of the Amanus group,
stressed the importance of building on present
relationships with the UAE . He said the
trip “provided me with an opportunity to visit
Amman Jordan for two days, where I was
able to speak with a Jordanian developer
and his team about a mixed use concept. I
also met with several local businesses while
I was there and had an opportunity to help
them understand how possible partnerships
could be created.”
Like any good relationship, communication
and understanding are key. That’s why
it is important that economic growth and
business leaders at the SEDC and Saratoga
County Chamber of Commerce are mobilizing
direct bilateral engagement with the
United Arab Emirates (UAE ) business
community.
Dave Cummings, a well-known thoroughbred
owner and racer experienced first
hand the value of good relationships and
communication. While in the UAE he had
the chance encounter of running into Seth
Benzel, a New York native who Cummings
had shared many laughs with at our very own
Oklahoma training track.
In 2013, Benzel showed his resolve to go to
the UAE and train for the Zayat stable. Now,
Cummings is working out a shared thoroughbred
ownership with another traveler in the
delegation, with the possibility of visiting
Benzel in the UAE again.
Bill Teator, president of Capital Advocates
LLC, said it is vital that the Capital Region
maintain an ongoing partnership with this
region of the world and with an industry that
has so heavily invested in us.
“Relationships must be a two-way street.
Undertaking an assessment of our region’s
human, capital and resource assets can help
us address important needs of the UAE ,”
he said. “Job skills training in building
technologies, multi-cultural education and
healthcare workforce development are all
in demand to keep up with a diversifying
economy and rapidly growing melting pot of people that is modern Dubai
and Abu Dhabi. By offering solutions from our region helpful
to their growth and stability, we can cultivate
more foreign investment and best practices
important to our own.”
Teator said one example could be research
and development collaboration in enhanced
energy efficiency technologies.
“Sometimes we have to go the extra
mile to get to know our neighbor. In this
case, our neighbors have already directly
supported 3,000 employee households,
thousands more who helped build Global
Foundries and they are active leaders in
our historically important horse racing
industry. These must be starting points,
not end points. Cultural understanding
can foster more bilateral trade and investment
opportunities to ‘in-source’ capital,
talent and sales beneficial to both region’s
economic stability,” he said.
He commended the Saratoga County
Chamber and SEDC for having the vision
to bolster the engagement through broader
personal understanding of both sides of this
valuable relationship.
Photo Courtesy SEDC