Dr Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, has welcomed a delegation of senior government officials from Mexico as the two nations explore greater trade and investment opportunities.

At the Ministry of Economy in Dubai, Dr Al Zeyoudi held discussions with Carmen Moreno Toscano, Mexico’s Under-Secretary of Foreign Affairs; Gabriel Urio González, Deputy Minister of Finance and Public Credit; and Luis Alfonso de Alba Góngora, Mexico’s Ambassador to the UAE, highlighting the potential for mutually beneficial partnerships in sectors such as food security, advanced technology, infrastructure, financial services, agriculture and professional services.

Al Zeyoudi heralded the robust relations between the UAE and Mexico, which are continuing to create avenues for cooperation and collaboration. “Today, the UAE is Mexico’s largest trading partner among Arab and African countries, while Mexico is the UAE’s second-largest trading partner in Latin America. Bilateral non-oil trade surpassed Dhs7.8 billion ($2.1 billion) in 2022, marking impressive growth of 36 per cent compared to 2021, and significant increases of 56 per cent and 49 percent compared to 2020 and 2019 respectively.

“The meeting with the Mexican delegation helped to shed light on numerous valuable opportunities to further strengthen economic cooperation between our nations and foster increased investment and trade prospects for our respective business communities. Our discussions were focused on supporting future growth between both sides and creating new avenues for investment, which will build upon the Dhs922 million ($251 million) that the UAE already has committed to Mexico,” he added.

Al Zeyoudi also briefed the Mexican officials on the investment incentives provided by the UAE’s dynamic business environment, including 100 percent foreign ownership, streamlined business establishment procedures, and frictionless access to global markets offered by its Comprehensive Economic Partnership (CEPA) programme, which has resulted in wide-ranging trade deals with India, Israel, Indonesia, and Türkiye.

Dr Al Zeyoudi outlined the potential for Mexican business owners and entrepreneurs to leverage the advantages offered by the UAE’s NextGenFDI programme, which provides market-entry fundamentals for future-focused enterprises, including rapid incorporation and licensing, bulk visa issuance and access to banking facilities.

During the discussions, Al Zeyoudi also emphasised the UAE economy, most notably the nation’s robust GDP growth of 7.6 percent and its achievement of surpassing Dhs2.2 trillion in non-oil foreign trade for the first time in 2022, which represented a growth of 17 per cent compared to 2021. Additionally, the UAE secured a global ranking of eleventh in merchandise exports, with a total of $599 billion, contributing 2.4 per cent to the world’s merchandise exports.

US GreenTech delegation: Dr Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, addressed a US-led GreenTech delegation to the UAE, outlining the growth opportunities offered to companies developing low-carbon and alternative energy solutions in the UAE’s supportive ecosystem. He also emphasised the need for public-private collaboration in driving the transition towards a green economy.

The three-day US GreenTech Mission, organised by the US Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the UAE Embassy in Washington, welcomed more than 75 business leaders from US multinational companies, SMEs and startups across various sectors, including finance, energy, renewables, transportation and logistics. Against the backdrop of the UAE’s COP28 preparations, the US delegation focused on green investment prospects across the nation.

During his address, Al Zeyoudi reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to leading a global energy transition, highlighting UAE’s $50 billion in investments in clean and renewable energy projects in 70 nations across six continents. He emphasised the joint UAE-US “Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy”, which was signed in November 2022 and commits $100 billion to deploy 100 gigawatts of clean energy by 2035.

Al Zeyoudi also underscored the UAE’s NextGenFDI programme, which has been specifically designed to foster the development of new industries and capabilities that address today’s most pressing challenges. “The innovation and ingenuity of the private sector is crucial to realizing a cleaner, more sustainable future, and we continue to offer a supportive home for pioneering companies seeking to drive this change. Programmes such as NextGenFDI can help globally minded, future-focused enterprises and investors access the advantages of our enabling ecosystem, and we have already welcomed specialists in fields such as hybrid aviation and precision fermentation. As we build towards COP28, we not only want to lead the conversations on the green economy, but also foster the solutions, the technologies and the tools to build one.”

Today, the UAE is home to 1,500 US firms, and is the largest trading partner in the Middle East for the US with non-oil trade between the two countries reaching $33 billion in 2022.