Investopia, the global investment summit, held its first-ever event in Europe in 2023 - Investopia Europe - in the business capital of Italy, Milan, with the participation of over 350 leaders, businessmen, investors, entrepreneurs, and economists from the UAE, Italy and the wider European continent.

The event aims to stimulate global investment movement in fast-growing sectors, particularly the new economy, circular economy, family businesses, and creative industries, and to explore the future of global investment trends.

Investopia Europe seeks to strengthen economic and investment cooperation between the UAE and Europe from the Italian city of Milan, by formulating a new and future investment vision that expands to the sectors of the new economy. It will support the development of global economic policies needed to drive sustainable development efforts and global economic growth.

Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy, confirmed in a televised speech during the opening session that Milan was chosen to launch Investopia Europe thanks to its position as one of the most dynamic global financial capitals and a key trade gateway to the European continent.

This decision also reflects the UAE’s desire to strengthen economic and trade relations with the friendly Republic of Italy in all areas of shared interest. The continuing dialogue will contribute to strengthening investment cooperation between the two countries during the next phase.

He added that the launch of Investopia Europe will help shape a future-oriented global investment community. The dialogue will contribute to identifying more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable parameters for the global economy by focusing on stimulating investment and expanding into fastest-growing sectors. These include trade, circular economy, family businesses, industries, creative activities, luxury goods and technology.

The Minister of Economy said that Investopia continues its efforts to create opportunities in various new economic sectors and promote relations between global business communities and the UAE - one of the fastest growing investment and trade hubs, globally.

Bin Touq underlined that the global investment platform Investopia continues to gain momentum at the regional and global levels. This can be attributed to its key role in optimizing global investment opportunities and forging new trade and investment partnerships needed to achieve sustainable economic and social development.

“Since its launch by the UAE Government in September 2021, Investopia has been dynamizing business and investment communities. It has been able to achieve considerable success in facilitating dialogue and ties between government leaders, businessmen, investors, entrepreneurs, investment funds, as well as academic and research institutions, while also highlighting promising trade and investment prospects and opportunities around the world,” he added.

Bin Touq said: “The UAE government has launched a series of national strategies and initiatives following our wise leadership’s directives to accelerate the shift towards a new economic model based on knowledge and innovation. These developments have contributed to the growth and prosperity of the national economy as reflected by the economic results for the year 2022. Most notably, our national GDP witnessed an unprecedented 7.6 per cent growth, while non-oil foreign trade exceeded Dhs2.2. trillion for the first time in history, in line with the principles of the 50 and the ‘We the UAE 2031’ vision.”

He also elaborated on the UAE’s success in developing futuristic policies and programmes across many economic sectors, including the launch of the UAE Circular Economy Policy 2031 and the enactment of Federal Decree Laws on Industrial Property Protection, Copyright and Neighbouring Rights and Trademarks to stimulate the growth of innovative industries and encourage innovation and creativity in the country. The UAE’s efforts also seek to access global markets through the launch of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPA) program and the National Strategy for the Cultural and Creative Industries for 2021, which aims to increase the contribution of creative activities to the country’s GDP to 5 per cent by 2031, thus promoting the UAE’s position on the global creativity landscape.

“Family businesses are a key growth driver in the UAE and in economies around the world. They play a prominent role in supporting sustainable economic development and enhancing investment attractiveness, in addition to providing job opportunities in many sectors. Given that family businesses account for 70 per cent of global private sector, 60 per cent of the total workforce, and 70 per cent of the global GDP, the country has enacted the first comprehensive and unique legislation on the governance of family businesses, and has launched the ‘Thabat’ program to support the growth and prosperity of family businesses in the country. It has set a goal to transform 200 family businesses into major companies by 2030 with a market value of approximately AED 150bn and generate annual revenues of more than Dhs18 billion,” Bin Touq said.

Moreover, the UAE Minister of Economy called on all Investopia Europe participants to explore the promising investment opportunities in the UAE, and to capitalize on the advantages and possibilities offered by the country’s business and investment environment. These efforts are especially relevant since the UAE aims to attract Dhs550 billion in FDI through the Investopia platform by 2031.

Investopia Europe featured a keynote session titled ‘Investments between Opportunities and Global Challenges’, which saw the participation of Abdulla Ahmed AlSaleh, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy, Giancarlo Giorgetti, Minister of Economy and Finance of Italy, Daniela Santanchè, Minister of Tourism of Italy, and Alessandra Smerilli, Secretary of the Dicastery for promoting Integral Human Development and delegate of the Vatican Covid-19 Commission. The session focused on the current global economic situation and changes on the regional and international landscape, as well as the most prominent challenges to the growth of the future economy sectors and the consolidation of joint efforts on future directions.

The Italian Minister of Tourism said that the UAE and Italy enjoy strong and strategic relations in various fields, especially tourism, which contributes to enhancing prospects for current and future cooperation in this vital sector. Italy seeks to explore more investment opportunities in the tourism sector, which was significantly affected by the pandemic.

“Investopia Europe is an important platform in stimulating and attracting joint investments in the tourism sector, which is set to witness many partnerships with the UAE, since it has a leading experience in this key economic sector,” she added.

Meanwhile, Daniela Santanchè underlined that sustainable tourism is a key contributor to driving economic growth, which contributes to creating more jobs and stimulating trade. She stated that the hospitality industry leads in attracting foreign investment, with a focus on the quality of services provided, which is a key factor in attracting tourists from around the world.

Alessandra Smerilli said that Investopia Europe aims to promote economic, investment, and development integration for all, which requires partnerships in various critical sectors such as health care, education, circular economy, carbon, and technology to benefit all humanity.

“There exists this need to promote investments that help reduce carbon emissions and preserve environment,” she added. She also noted that COP27 has launched a ‘Loss and Damage’ fund, which calls for international cooperation to take concrete action to adapt and support all joint efforts aimed at protecting the planet Earth.

“We expect COP28 to advance global cooperation on the Paris Agreement, shifting from climate pledges to the implementation and launch of massive investments capable of changing the global landscape and protecting humanity as a whole,” Alessandra Smerilli said.

She further called for action to stimulate investments in health care, environment, and other influential sectors through venture capital and the entry of leaders, businesses, and investors into partnerships capable of transforming societies’ lives for the better.

The event also hosted four panel discussions, including a session on ‘The New Model of Family Businesses’, which discussed key opportunities for investment in family businesses and the localization of technology to support their growth and sustainability. The mechanisms for their development to ensure their sustainability and continuity across future generations were also discussed. The second titled ‘New Investment Trends in Luxury’ examined the reasons behind the significant changes and rapid growth across industries and welfare activities and growth opportunities in emerging markets.

The third session, titled ‘Investing for Growth between Responsibility and Sustainability’, highlighted the importance of investment growth in various key sectors in order to contribute to the success of the global financial system. Apart from that, the fourth and final session, entitled ‘Global Trade: The New Rules of the Game’ focused on changes in the global trade movement, especially since it has become a major driver of growth and prosperity of the global economy.

The UAE delegation to Italy includes 50 members from the public-private sectors, including Adeeb Ahamed, Managing Director of Lulu Financial Holdings, Salah Sharaf, Director General at Sharaf Group, Sanjeev Gupta, CEO of Liberty Steel, as well as H.E. Ahmed Kassir, Executive Director at Sharjah Investment and Development Authority “Shurooq”, Hamad Obaid Al Shamsi, Regional Investment Promotion Manager (Invest in Sharjah), Shadi Hassan, Managing Partner of Lifco Group, Hani Barhoush, CEO of Disruptive Investments at Mubadala, Agate Johnson, Head of Strategic Business and Marketing at Lulu Financial Holdings, Yousuf Ahmed Al Yousuf, Chief Operating Officer at Al Yousuf, Hassan Karimi, Co-Founder and Managing Director of KHK & Partners, and H.E. Jamal Bin Saif AlJarwan, Secretary-General of the of the UAE International Investors Council.

Investopia Europe is the eighth milestone of the global dialogues and discussion series under Investopia and the first such event in Europe. The talks were held in seven rounds targeting prominent global markets including New York, Geneva, New Delhi, Mumbai, Cairo, Rabat and Havana. Investopia sessions reflect the UAE’s contributions to developing global economic policies and promoting investment in new economic sectors.