Business Bureau, Gulf Today

Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, met with his counterpart Harris Georgiades, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Cyprus, to discuss ways of enhancing cooperation between the two friendly countries, which extends for more than 50 years. The meeting was during a visit by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) delegation to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

During the meeting, the two parties discussed means of enhancing cooperation and strategic partnership on various trade and economic levels, and the need to explore the available investment opportunities and activate the role of the private sector in promoting this partnership.

During the meeting, Obaid Al Tayer highlighted the advanced investment and legislative environment of the UAE and its advanced infrastructure as well as macroeconomic stability. These data reinforce the country’s status as an attractive destination for foreign direct investment, which contributes to achieving the UAE Vision 2021.

The Kingdom of Belgium also commends the cooperation and partnership with the UAE. Obaid Humaid Al Tayer also met with Alexander De Croo, Minister of Finance of the Kingdom of Belgium.

As part of the Ministry of Finance’s (MoF) efforts to contribute to achieving UAE Vision 2021 aimed at enhancing financial and economic cooperation with all countries; H.E Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, met with H.E Alexander De Croo, Minister of Finance of the Kingdom of Belgium. H.E Alexander De Croo praised the importance of the UAE as a strategic partner of the Kingdom of Belgium.

Obaid Al Tayer said: “”The UAE economy ranks second in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, becoming more diversified, and the contribution of the oil sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has dropped to less than 25%. The country’s GDP has grown strongly over the past years, while growth in GDP is expected to reach 3% between 2019 and 2020. “

For his part, Harris Georgiades, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Cyprus, praised the historical relations between the two countries and the economic performance of the UAE, stressing the need to strengthen bilateral relations in all areas of mutual interest.

The UAE and the Republic of Cyprus are bound by a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement that was issued in 2013. The two countries also have important historical, trade and economic ties in a number of vital sectors, mainly trade, energy, real estate, shipping, innovation and tourism.

Obaid Humaid Al Tayer pointed to the importance of these meetings in introducing the important investment opportunities in the UAE and discussing ways of developing bilateral relations with the EU countries, especially Belgium.

He said: “”The UAE and Belgium have significant historical, trade and investment ties, which became strategic partnerships in the economically viable sectors, due to the efforts made by the two parties.”

During the meeting, both parties reviewed the close bilateral relations between the two countries and means of strengthening them to cover all areas of mutual interest. The two parties also discussed mechanisms to strengthen the partnership process and the need to deepen it in order to increase the volume of capital-intensive mutual investments and the volume of trade exchange.

At the end of the meeting, the two parties stressed the importance of carrying on the strategic dialogue between the two countries, taking advantage of the investment opportunities embraced by both of the countries, meeting the challenges and enhancing the role of the private sector in upgrading existing partnership frameworks.

Following the UAE Ministry of Finance’s efforts to strengthen cooperation with EU member states, Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs met with Giovanni Tria, Minister of Finance of Italy during the Ministry’s visit to the Duchy of Luxembourg.

Obaid Humaid Al Tayer noted that UAE’s imports from the EU amounted to $60 billion, while EU imports from the UAE grossed only $4 billion, including re-exports.

He said: “This meeting provided an important platform to discuss mutual investments, and the exchange of information for tax purposes, while considering the strong relations we have with the EU with the previous signing of the two agreements on the avoidance of double taxation and investment protection and promotion between the UAE and Italy. These agreement support trade and investment cooperation between the two parties.”

Giovanni Tria valued the UAE’s effort to consolidate bilateral relations with the EU and reaffirmed his continued support to strengthen bilateral relations between the two parties.

The meeting also addressed the partnership between the UAE and EU countries, as well as the importance of bolstering bilateral relations in areas of mutual interest, particularly in trade.