In a major move to ramp up investment in technology and scientific research, the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SRTI Park) has been engaged in hectic bilateral activity over the past week, marked by a high-level visit to main Chinese cities as well as Chinese delegations visiting SRTI Park to explore investment avenues.

Hussain Al Mahmoudi, CEO of SRTI Park, who headed the delegation to China, visited a number of research centers in different cities, including Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen, reflecting SRTI Park’s commitment to expanding international cooperation and promoting innovation.

The promotional tour included a series of business meetings, introductory seminars, and strategic partnerships, facilitated by the Sharjah Foreign Direct Investment Office - Invest in Sharjah. The delegation met leading companies with the aim of boosting Sharjah’s cooperation with China in industrial development, technology, education and bilateral trade.

China is the UAE’s largest trade partner, and total volume of bilateral trade reached about $95 billion in 2023. SRTI Park seeks to build on the momentum and boost collaboration in R&D and knowledge transfer by concluding strategic partnerships with Chinese companies, especially those engaged in developing smart cities.

SRTI Park’s ramped up business relationship with Chinese companies comes at a time when Sharjah’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at 6.5 per cent in 2023, indicating emirate’s robust economic momentum and competitiveness, bolstering its status among the region’s fastest-growing and most diverse economies. Around the same time, SRTI Park welcomed multiple delegations from China, comprising businessmen and heads of startups and business incubators, who expressed great interest in technological investments and research cooperation.

The visiting delegations’ program culminated in the signing of a cooperation agreement with one of the most important technological and research centers in China -- the Jiangsu Tospark Innovation Research Institute (JTIRI) – dedicated to supporting emerging and innovative companies in UAE and China, and boost cooperation in the fields of sustainability, mobility, additive manufacturing, and health care.

The agreement encompasses cooperation in supporting startups wishing to explore business setup or partnerships in Sharjah or Jiangsu. It also aims to support official visits by major companies on both sides, and the establishment of facilitated “joint platforms” for startup companies in SRTI Park and research centers in Jiangsu.

The agreement reflects SRTI Park’s relentless efforts to attract more investments and research companies from China, by providing an incubating and supportive environment for innovation, research and development, with the goal of boosting its research and technological capabilities and exchanging expertise with an elite group of Chinese research centers and technology companies.