Media ININ Economy We Trust
Media IN/Wed 24-04-2019
LONDON: The U.A.E-UK Joint Economic Committee was established by the signature of the two co-chairs in Abu Dhabi on 7th April 2009 under a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, to strengthen the friendly relationship and further develop cooperation between the two countries. The committee has driven economic momentum through consolidating bilateral cooperative ties, creating more opportunities for business communities and stimulating exchange of expertise.
The committee was the 5th of its kind, held in London and the two countries discussed possibilities to further strengthen the wider economic partnership among themselves.
The purpose of the meeting was to enhance economic partnership in areas where there is complementarity between areas and sectors in the UAE’s national vision and strategies, and the UK’s industrial Strategy and Export strategy. Here, emphasis was put on opportunities in energy, healthcare and life sciences, cyber security and aerospace, artificial intelligence, infrastructure, education, financial and professional services and technology.
A significant increase in bilateral trade(goods and services) between the two countries was realised between 2013 and 2017 i.e from 12.34 billion pounds in 2013 to 17.5 billion pounds in 2017, including a 25 percent rise over the two years to end 2017. Both sides will redouble joint efforts to deliver further growth in bilateral trade. As part of this drive, both sides will boost trade and promoted the UAE as a regional hub, encouraging more UK entities to locate in the UAE and export to the region and beyond.
The meeting was chaired by Mohammed Bin Abdul Aziz Al Shehhi, Under-Secretary for Economic Affairs, Ministry of Economy and Baroness Fairhead, UK Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion.
The participants noted the value of the wide range of conferences, trade fairs and other fora that offer opportunities to strengthen bilateral ties.
The new Federal Law on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) which was amended of recent giving foreigners full ownership of real estate property was welcomed by the UK representatives and they said that this would promote and develop the investment environment and enhance attracting foreign direct investments in U.A.E.
