UAE & Spain Trade Forum discussed commercial and industrial investment
His Excellency Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, inaugurated the work of the UAE and Spain Trade Forum, which was held via visual communication technology, with the participation of the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Tourism of Spain, Her Excellency Maria Rice Marotto, along with representatives of the Ministry of Health and Community Protection, the Ministry of State for Food Security and Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), Dubai Municipality, and up to 180 companies, including 150 Spanish companies.
UAE and Spain Trade Forum Discussions
The UAE and Spain Trade Forum focused on commercial and investment opportunities in 3 main sectors, including agricultural technology, water, and health, through discussion sessions specialized in the opportunities offered in the state’s markets in the agricultural technology and agricultural industries sector, and opportunities in the health sector, and water solutions.
His Excellency considered Spain is one of the most important markets of the European Union countries for the UAE and ranks 6 as the most important trading partner among the countries of the group, as non-oil foreign trade between the two countries recorded over 1.4 billion dollars during the period from January to August 2020, and the total non-oil trade exchange reached for the year 2019, up to $2.5 billion, while Spain ranks fourth among the European Union countries in terms of the percentage of Emirati exports, with a contribution of over 8.5% of the total UAE non-oil exports to the European Union countries.
Mutual investments represent an important and sustainable path for cooperation, as Emirati investments in the Spanish market are estimated at $4.5 billion until the end of 2018, and the UAE is the first in the Arab world and among the top 20 invested markets in Spain. Many Spanish companies operating in the country exceeds 570 companies in all the emirates of the country and free zones, and they operate in various economic activities.
Trade relations between the UAE and Spain
His Excellency Abdulla Bin Touq Al-Marri affirmed that the Emirati-Spanish relations are based on strong economic and trade ties and have the ingredients and potentials for growth and reaching more advanced horizons during the next stage.
His Excellency Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri said: The government of the UAE is looking with great interest to enhance the prospects for economic and commercial cooperation with the Spanish side and work to explore new opportunities to develop relations and open the way for the private sector of the two countries to enter strategic projects and develop development initiatives and commercial partnerships that serve our current interests and support our aspirations on Long-term.
His Excellency reviewed the state’s vision for future economic development and the priority sectors for the next stage, and the incentives presented by the business and investment environment in the country, and he invited Spanish companies to take advantage of the vast opportunities offered by Expo 2020 Dubai, which will be the most prominent commercial platform to view commercial and investment opportunities and ways to access them.
Her Excellency Maria Rice Marotto affirmed her country’s keenness to diversify economic and trade cooperation with the UAE to include the sectors of water, health care, and agricultural technology, which are the priority on the development agenda of the two countries, and to explore opportunities for establishing joint projects in the sectors of the new economy based on Advanced technology.
The Minister said that the Spanish-Emirati trade relations make up a main pillar in the Spanish international trade map, as the UAE is a major trading partner of Spain in the region, and pushing this partnership towards more advanced and prosperous horizons by taking advantage of the agreements signed between the UAE & Spain.