Dr Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and Dr Tan See Leng, Singapore’s Second Minister for Manpower, Trade and Industry, during a virtual meeting, explored the opportunities for partnership in areas of innovation, research and development, investment in advanced technology and food technology.

The two sides reviewed several priority issues on the development agenda of the two countries while discussing opportunities for bilateral cooperation, most notably the attraction of skills and ways to develop mechanisms between the two countries in this regard.

They also discussed new areas of cooperation at the governmental and business community levels by taking advantage of the active commercial standing that the UAE and Singapore enjoy as international centres of trade and business.

Al Zeyoudi stated that the UAE-Singapore economic and trade relations are “strong and witnessing an increasing growth”, especially since the two countries have many commonalities in terms of having a strategic geographic location linked to many promising markets, as international trade centres and global destinations for capital, business and tourism, in addition to possessing advanced, flexible, and attractive legislative and technological infrastructure that attracts foreign investments.

The volume of non-oil trade exchange between the two countries recorded $5 billion in 2019, achieving a growth of 28.2 per cent over the previous year, while the total non-oil trade for the first half of 2020 was about $1.7 billion.

In terms of investments, the cumulative foreign direct investment balance between the two countries until the beginning of 2019 amounted to about $5.9 billion, and Singaporean companies’ investments in the UAE focused on a wide range of sectors, most notably wholesale and retail trade, building, construction, financial services, insurance, manufacturing industries, real estate, mining, transportation, storage, education, information technology and the food sector.

The Singaporean minister expressed his country’s desire to develop prospects for cooperation with the UAE in all developmental areas, diversify the basket of trade exchanges, and work to attract quality investments in sectors of mutual interest.

He said that the two countries have many economic and trade potentials and have a clear vision regarding investment in building and developing capabilities in areas based on innovation and modern and advanced technology, indicating that the next stage will witness further progress, diversity and growth in levels of economic and investment partnerships between the two sides.

Energy Partnership: The United Arab Emirates, the United States of America and the State of Israel have affirmed the importance of establishing a joint strategic vision for energy partnership.

Recognising that energy collaboration can be a step toward a more stable, integrated, and prosperous Middle East, Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Cabinet Member and Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, US Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette and Israeli Minister of Energy Yuval Steinitz, have agreed to the following joint statement supporting the development of a strategic vision for an energy partnership that drives innovation and prosperity:

“The United Arab Emirates, the United States, and the State of Israel, acknowledging the benefits of focusing on pragmatic steps that have tangible outcomes, agree to encourage greater coordination in the energy sector, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, oil, natural gas resources and related technologies, and water desalination technologies. Together, our dynamic economies will look to leverage world-leading research and development capacities to meet the needs of current and future generations. We will also seek to find solutions to the energy challenges faced by the Palestinian people through the development of energy resources, technologies, and related infrastructure.

“To maximise the global benefits of cooperation, the UAE, the US, and Israel are committed to exploring collective activities in multilateral settings in coordination with financial institutions and the private sector to enhance international investment in research and development and the rapid adoption of new energy technologies.”

Last week, Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), DP World’s flagship Free Zone and the leading business and logistics hub in the UAE, has entered into a strategic agreement with the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce (FICC), in a concentrated effort to support businesses and encourage economic cooperation.

WAM