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Minister of State for Foreign Trade Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi leads a delegation of senior officials and business leaders to Brussels, Belgium to strengthen economic ties and investment opportunities with Belgium and the wider European Union (EU), state news agency Wan reports.
As part of his visit, Al Zeyoudi met European Trade Commissioner Vladis Dombrovskis to discuss expanding trade relations with the EU and briefing on preparations for the 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (MC13), scheduled for 2024 in Abu Dhabi Work update.
In addition, Al Zeyoudi 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, to explore further opportunities for joint economic cooperation in priority areas.
He further 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 areas of high potential 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.
non-bilateral trade
In 2022, non-oil bilateral trade between the UAE and the EU will reach USD 56 billion, an increase of 9.3% compared to the same period in 2021.
UAE, EU discuss strengthening bilateral ties#WamNews https://t.co/u6mmZlHdy4
— WAM English (@WAMNEWS_ENG) April 26, 2023
Non-oil trade volumes increased by 28.6% in 2020 and 14.7% in the same period 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.
read: UAE, South Africa seek to strengthen trade ties in energy, tourism
Also read: Saudi Arabia, UK review bilateral ties, sign defense cooperation agreement
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