[ad_1]
ABU DHABI, 25th April, 2023 (WAM) — Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, led a delegation of senior officials and business leaders to Brussels, Belgium, with the aim of strengthening economic ties and promoting cooperation with Belgium and Investment opportunities in the wider European Union (EU).
During his visit, Al Zeyoudi held bilateral talks with EU Trade Commissioner Vladis Dombrovskis to discuss the growing trade relationship with the EU and to share an update on the preparations for the upcoming 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (MC13) in 2024 in Abu Dhabi.
Dr Al Zeyoudi also held talks with Pierre-Yves Dermagne, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Employment of Belgium, and Hadja Lahbib, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, during which they outlined opportunities for further joint economic cooperation in priority areas.
Al Zeyoudi noted that the visit marks an important continuation of the long-standing trade relationship shared with the EU. “The EU is one of the UAE’s largest trading partners, and trade with us has grown strongly in recent years. We believe it is important to strengthen economic ties with the EU, especially in high-potential areas such as digital trade, e-commerce and innovation, and we are actively working to Promote cooperation.
“Our meeting reinforced the UAE’s belief that, working together, we can create a future of shared prosperity for our businesses and citizens, and I look forward to continued engagement with the EU going forward,” he added.
In 2022, the non-oil bilateral trade volume between the UAE and the EU will reach US$56 billion, an increase of 9.3% over the same period in 2021. Non-oil trade volume increased by 28.6% and 14.7% compared with the same period in 2020, respectively in 2019. Furthermore, the UAE is today Belgium’s main trading partner in the Middle East, accounting for 21% of Belgium’s trade with Arab countries by 2022.
The UAE delegation also participated in a technical workshop in Brussels that explored the scope of the EU’s proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The workshop provided important details on compliance, data requirements and CBAM implementation timelines.
During his visit, Dr. Al Zeyoudi met Mohammed Al Sahlawi, UAE Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium. Juma Mohammed Al Kait, Assistant Undersecretary for Foreign Trade Affairs, UAE Ministry of Economy. The UAE delegation included Saif Ghubash, Assistant Undersecretary at the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure for the Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources Sector; Amal Al Ali, Director-General for Oil and Gas Affairs at the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure; Abdulla Alduhoori, Assistant Economic Research at the Ministry of Economy; Bharat Bhatia, executive officer; Claus Basse, senior manager, international and government affairs, Emirates; Dr Majeed Bishara, engineering manager, cargo operations, Emirates; Maryam Bin Fares, senior manager, treasury transactions, Etihad; Value Program auditor Fatma Hokal, with representatives from Emirates Global Aluminum and Emirates Steel Arkan.
[ad_2]
Source link