UAE, Australia discuss ways of developing commercial, investment exchange

26/04/2017

Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, and Steven Ciobo, Australian Minister of Commerce, Tourism and Investment, discussed ways of developing commercial and investment exchange between the two countries.

The meeting was held at the ministry's headquarters in Dubai, in the presence of Abdullah Sultan Al Shams Al Shamsi, Assistant Under-Secretary for Industry, the Consul-General of the Australian Embassy in the UAE, and several senior officials and counsellors from both sides.

Both sides stressed their common desire to increase joint co-operation in several vital economic sectors, notably the tourism sector that has promising opportunities for growth and is attracting increasing interest from UAE investors to engage in tourism and hotel projects in the Australian market. They also highlighted the importance of further strengthening co-operation in the aviation sector, as one of the most successful models of co-operation between the two countries.

They discussed co-ordinating the establishment of a joint economic committee this year and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of innovation, which is being drafted by specialists from both sides, to address the latest developments on current negotiations between Australia and GCC countries on the signing of a free trade agreement.

During the meeting, the Australian side expressed their interest in participating in Dubai Expo 2020, which will provide beneficial opportunities for developing joint co-operation between the two countries, and enhancing the presence of Australian investments in both the UAE and the entire region.

Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri highlighted the growing economic and commercial relations between the UAE and Australia as reflected in their development of commercial exchange, with their non-oil foreign trade reaching US$2.8 billion in 2015 and around $2.1 billion during the first nine months of 2016.

He added that while these are excellent figures, they are still looking forward to developing mutual economic ties during the coming period, in accordance with the economic visions and development goals of both countries.