Axel BAROUX

Axel Baroux is the French Trade & Invest Commissioner for United Arab Emirates and Middle East since the 1st of September 2022, based in Dubai. He was previously Trade & Invest Commissioner for South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa (2017 – 2022); Executive Vice President “International network” with Business France, member of the Business France Executive Committee and President (non-executive) of Formatex, a specialized international training institute (2014 – 2017).

He holds a Postgraduate degree in Public International law from the University of Paris I - Pantheon Sorbonne (1989) and has dedicated his entire career for the development of French trade and economy at an international level.

He started his career at the COFACE, the French Export Credit Agency (from 1990 to 1994) with the Department of long term guarantees (contracts and investments).

He then joined the Directorate of Foreign Economic Relations (now known as the Directorate General of Treasury) of the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry (from 1994 to 2004).

He has also served at various senior level positions within the central administration of the ministry (Near and Middle East Desk) as well as with the ministry’s offices abroad (in Lebanon and Poland).

In 2004, Axel joined UBIFRANCE (now Business France), the French trade development agency, and served first as Managing Director of the agency’s Marseille branch office (from 2004 to 2008), thereafter as the UBIFRANCE Country Manager in Turkey (posted in Istanbul from 2008 to 2012) and as Deputy Director of UBIFRANCE North America and Country Manager for Canada (posted in Toronto from 2012 to 2014).

He is married and father of three. Award: France’s Knight of the National Order of Merit.