Minister of Economy holds meetings

Abu Dhabi, 17 March 2023

 H.E. Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, held meetings with trade ministers of India, Bahrain, Singapore and Indonesia on the sidelines of CII Partnership Summit 2023. The Summit took place recently in New Delhi, India, under the theme ‘Partnerships for Responsible, Accelerated, Innovative, Sustainable and Equitable Businesses.’

During his meeting with H.E. Piyush Goyal, Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry, H.E. Bin Touq highlighted the strength of relations between the two countries. He noted that the India-UAE relations continue to prosper in a manner that supports the sustainable development of both economies and contributes to the prosperity of their people.

The Minister of Economy said: “We will continue to enhance cooperation with our partners in India in all priority sectors and benefit from the current pace of economic exchanges thanks to the UAE-India CEPA. We remain keen to explore more partnerships and to diversify investments in new economic sectors. We believe that these efforts are key to creating more job opportunities and enhancing the flexibility and competitiveness of both economies.”

H.E. Bin Touq added: “The continuing growth is evident in the non-oil foreign trade between our two countries, which amounted to AED 181 billion in 2022, reflecting a 10 per cent growth compared to 2021. The UAE’s investment flows to India totaled nearly USD 15.4 billion by the end of 2022, while Indian FDI in UAE totaled nearly USD 8 billion until early 2021.

The two ministers explored the means to enhance export activity between the UAE and India and ensure the sustainability of trade and investment flows. They also agreed to support existing economic partnerships and diversify them to include the areas of space technology, food security, renewable energy, transport and logistics, food industries, and textile industries. The need to facilitate the access of both business communities to the opportunities available in these sectors was also highlighted.

H.E. Bin Touq’s meeting with H.E. Abdullah bin Adel Fakhro, Bahraini Minister of Industry and Trade, discussed ways to enhance economic and trade cooperation between the UAE and Bahrain. H.E. Bin Touq emphasized the deep-rooted historic relations between the UAE and Bahrain that have developed over the past years on the strong foundations of shared beliefs and visions in many sectors.

H.E. Bin Touq said: “The economic cooperation agreements signed between the two countries in the past and the formation of a joint higher committee have clearly contributed to boosting trade exchanges. As a result, the non-oil trade between the UAE and Bahrain amounted to about AED 24.9 billion in 2022 with a 8.1 per cent year-over-year growth.”

In another meeting with Gan Kim Young, Minister of Commerce and Industry of Singapore, the Minister of Economy examined enhanced cooperation with Singapore.

H.E. said: “The relations between the UAE and Singapore are strong and well-established, and have witnessed steady growth in various economic fields over the past years. We look forward to forging sustainable partnerships with Singapore in economic fields of common interest.”

He added: “Singapore is one of the most important trade and investment partners of the UAE, and the value of non-oil foreign trade between our two countries exceeded AED 21 billion in 2022, up 36.7 per cent from 2021. This confirms that the economic relations between the two countries are moving in the right direction. We will continue working alongside our partners in the Singaporean government to open up new horizons for trade and investment partnerships and enhance the private sectors’ access to promising opportunities in both markets, especially in the sectors of new economy.”

The two parties agreed to identify sectors of highest priority in the cooperation and economic partnership between the two countries. Most notably, these include renewable energy, FinTech, AI, tourism and transportation.

Apart from that, H.E. Bin Touq’s meeting with H.E. Zulkifli Hassan, Minister of Trade of Indonesia, discussed frameworks for diversifying mutual investments in light of the economic partnership between the two countries.

The Minister of Economy underlined the strength of relations between the UAE and Indonesia. It was the exceptional relations between Abu Dhabi and Jakarta that led to the signing of a comprehensive economic partnership agreement between the two countries in 2022, under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE; and H.E. Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of Indonesia.

H.E. Bin Touq said: “The economic and trade cooperation between the two countries grew significantly after the signing of the CEPA. This is apparent in the non-oil trade exchange between the two countries, which amounted to nearly AED 14 billion in 2022 with a 24.4 per cent growth compared to that of 2021. FDI exchanges have also witnessed growth since the UAE invested nearly USD 10 billion in the Indonesian market in 2021. Indonesian FDI in the UAE amounted to nearly USD 11 million until early 2021.

The two ministers discussed the diversification and expansion of trade and investment cooperation, and the means to enhance the business communities’ access to greater opportunities in both markets, especially in the sectors of the digital economy, food security, renewable energy and banking.

The meeting also highlighted the need to take advantage of the current pace of exchanges between the two countries to support the expansion of startups in priority sectors.

All meetings saw H.E. Bin Touq highlight the UAE’s leading position on the global economic landscape, thanks to the forward-looking vision of the wise leadership in line with the objectives of the 50 and the determinants of the UAE Centennial 2071. In order to create an economic climate that supports business growth and attracts investments, the UAE granted 100 per cent foreign ownership, issued a legislation to protect intellectual property, and launched an ambitious strategy to attract talents and skills in all sectors, thus solidifying its position as a permanent hub for creativity and innovation.

Furthermore, H.E. Bin Touq invited the private sectors in India, Bahrain, Singapore and Indonesia to benefit from the advantages and incentives offered by the UAE economy, and the initiatives recently launched by the UAE government to facilitate businesses’ growth and expansion in the country’s markets and beyond.

Last Updated on 2 years by News Desk 2