From 27 to 29 May, Dubai Chambers played host to the Dubai-Madagascar Business Forum, marking a pivotal moment in the deepening relationship between Antananarivo and the UAE.
Organised in partnership with the Economic Development Board of Madagascar (EDBM), the event connected a high-level Malagasy delegation composed of President Andry Rajoelina, senior government ministers and over 60 business owners with their Emirati counterparts to explore investment opportunities and forge new commercial partnerships.
Opening the summit, President Rajoelina declared that “this forum links our two countries and will serve as a bridge between the United Arab Emirates and Madagascar” – a clear message underscoring how each partner brings to the table strengths that can help unlock mutual potential. Moving forward, building on this relationship will be vital to realising Rajoelina’s ambitious national development vision for Madagascar, from accelerating growth in key sectors to capitalising on the country’s strategic geography to become a thriving trade and logistics hub in the Indian Ocean region.
Key takeaways of a timely summit
Reflecting Madagascar’s burgeoning confidence on the international stage, President Rajoelina emphasised at the Dubai-Madagascar Business Forum that his country is not “asking for aid” but rather “proposing a partnership,” with a “stable” and “sovereign” Madagascar “ready to play its role in the major transitions of this century.” The forum notably focused on industries central to the green and digital transformations driving both partners’ long-term ambitions: for Madagascar, leapfrogging traditional development stages; for the UAE, accelerating its post-oil diversification.
As highlighted by the Malagasy delegation, the country’s agriculture, renewable energy, sustainable tourism, tech and infrastructure sectors offer lucrative, mutually-beneficial opportunities for Emirati investors, who stand to gain enormously from Madagascar’s young, talented population, wealth of natural resources and strategic geography. Echoing this shared vision, Dubai Chambers CEO Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah outlined multiple avenues for bilateral trade and investment in these priority industries, extending a clear invitation to Malagasy businesses to pursue opportunities in Dubai.
For Antananarivo, the UAE provides crucial access to a wider range of international markets needed to scale up its high-potential sectors, with the signing of numerous economic agreements at the forum signaling real momentum behind this strategy. Among the most significant, President Rajoelina announced a major investment from Abu-Dhabi-based Masdar – one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies – for the development of a 150-megawatt solar power project in Madagascar, representing a landmark moment in the country’s push for clean, sustainable growth and widespread electrification.
In the Dubai-Madagascar Business Forum’s immediate aftermath, Antananarivo is expected to officially open its new UAE embassy in Abu Dhabi, reflecting the Rajoelina administration’s alignment of diplomacy and economic objectives in the Gulf. For nearly a decade, Madagascar and the UAE have steadily built up their strategic partnership, with this rapprochement accelerating considerably over the past year.
An emerging ‘win-win’ relationship
Speaking at the Dubai-hosted World Government Summit 2025 last February, President Rajoelina highlighted the UAE’s growing role in Madagascar’s transformation, announcing plans for the former to train over one million Malagasy youth in programming to lay the foundation for its tech industry’s growth, alongside enhanced support for Antananarivo’s tourism sector. Aiming to capitalise on its substantial biodiversity assets, the Rajoelina administration has placed ecotourism at the core of its economic agenda, with the UAE emerging as a vital partner in this space.
After successfully launching its new route to Madagascar last September, Emirates Airlines increased its capacity from four to six weekly flights in early April, while talks are ongoing to introduce a daily direct service between Dubai and Antananarivo. This expansion is central to Madagascar’s push to boost leisure travel, with parallel discussions focused on Emirati investment in luxury hotels to help achieve its one-million-tourist target. Beyond tourism, this expanded aviation cooperation could boost bilateral trade via air freight – especially for Madagascar’s high-value goods, such as vanilla.
Hardly limited to raw exports, Madagascar’s Minister of Trade, David Ralambofiringa, has confirmed that recent engagement with Emirati investors includes the prospect of developing local vanilla- and sugar-processing plants, in line with Madagascar’s ambitions to move up the value chain and generate higher public revenues to fuel local development efforts. Given the ongoing uncertainty surrounding potential U.S. tariffs, securing stronger trade ties with the UAE – a major global logistics and re-export hub – has become increasingly critical for Madagascar’s export-driven economy.
At last January’s Abu Dhabi Annual Investment Meeting, the scale of this partnership’s ambition was made clear, with the UAE unveiling a $10 billion Madagascar investment programme backed by the Abu Dhabi Fund. Spanning port infrastructure, agriculture, digital innovation and a major hydroelectric plant to meet the country’s growing energy demand, the shared aim of this economic cooperation is to make Madagascar a “showcase of African development.”
Rajoelina positioning Madagascar as intercontinental hub
Crucially, expanded Madagascar-UAE ties are preparing the ground for Antananarivo to meet its potential as a thriving trade and logistics hub at the crossroads of Africa, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific – the world’s fastest-growing regions. Indeed, Madagascar’s unique geography – as both a gateway to Africa’s emerging markets and the world’s fourth-largest island at the centre of the increasingly-strategic Indian Ocean region – has made it a key focus of the UAE’s economic engagement.
Amid mounting instability in the Red Sea, attention has turned to the Indian Ocean – and particularly the Mozambique Channel – as a critical alternative for global maritime trade. Madagascar, situated at the heart of this channel, now lies along one of the fastest-growing shipping corridors in the world. The country’s location, coupled with its offshore reserves of critical minerals and hydrocarbons, makes it a strategic asset for international trade and a rising priority for global economic powers that Antananarivo can collaborate with to advance its economic agenda.
The Dubai-Madagascar Business Forum marks a strategic inflection point in Madagascar’s international engagement. The next step is clear: convert high-level dialogue into concrete investment, sector-specific partnership and accelerated project delivery. Looking ahead, the Rajoelina administration should continue signalling clarity of purpose and building trust with serious investors in the UAE and beyond. With the right execution, Madagascar can secure its place as a dynamic hub linking Africa, the Gulf and Asia.
