Dubai and LA Forge Economic Ties with New Multilateral Agreement

Editorial Team

Last updated 19-11-2025

3 min

Dubai and Los Angeles signed an agreement to boost trade and investment cooperation.

The deal was signed during the Dubai Business Forum – USA, with over 700 leaders attending.

This partnership supports knowledge sharing and business matchmaking for international expansion.

It aligns with Dubai’s D33 agenda, aiming to double the economy in the next decade.

The real challenge will be turning the agreement into practical collaboration for businesses.

Dubai and Los Angeles may sit an ocean apart, but the two business communities have just taken a clear step towards working more closely together. Dubai Chambers has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, aiming to boost trade, investment and general economic cooperation between the two cities. The agreement was signed in New York during the Dubai Business Forum – USA, an event that apparently pulled in more than 700 business leaders and investors. I wasn’t there myself, of course, but I’ve been around enough international forums to know that gathering over 80 senior figures from Dubai’s public and private sectors in one overseas delegation is no small feat — it can be a bit of a faff just getting ten people aligned.

The MoU, signed by Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah from Dubai Chambers and Martin K. Breidsprecher from the LA Chamber, sets out a framework for knowledge sharing, business matching and opening doors for companies on both sides to expand internationally. I reckon this kind of structured cooperation often sounds routine on paper, yet it can make all the difference when entrepreneurs are hunting for partners in unfamiliar markets. And believe it or not, during one of Arageek’s community sessions a startup founder once told me that a simple introduction from a chamber representative saved them months of cold outreach.

This partnership also aligns with Dubai’s broader D33 economic agenda, which aims to double the emirate’s economy over the next decade and position it among the top three global cities. On the flip side, it’s worth noting that those ambitions only succeed if the regulatory environment remains agile — something Dubai Chambers says it continues to strengthen. Spot on, if you ask me; strong policy frameworks often matter more than splashy announcements.

Both sides now have the task of turning this MoU from a ceremonial moment into practical collaboration. If they manage that, entrepreneurs in both cities could find it easier to plug into new markets without feeling like they’re stumbling in the dark. And well… I mean, as someone who’s watched countless founders across the MENA region trying to scale, anything that removes even one hurdle is a win — or at least, it should be, unless things get unnecessarily compliated.

Only time will tell how far this bridge between Dubai and Los Angeles will stretch, but for now the intent is clear: deeper ties, more opportunities, and a shared push to grow their respective business ecosystems.

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