DUBAI, 8th March, 2023 (WAM) — Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, affirmed the importance of bilateral relations between the UAE and Ukraine.
This came during his meeting, held at the Ministry of Economy’s headquarters in Dubai, with Yulia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine, and Taras Kachka, Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine.
The two sides discussed enhancing trade cooperation in various areas of mutual interest, including real estate, transportation, energy, agriculture, technology, manufacturing industries and retail trade, in a way that contributes to supporting the growth of trade and mutual investments.
In December 2022, the UAE announced the launch of preliminary talks to reach a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with Ukraine.
Dr. Al Zeyoudi said that the talks aim to enhance joint trade exchange, provide more investment and trade opportunities for the UAE and Ukrainian business communities, and support bilateral cooperation in various economic fields, especially infrastructure, heavy industries, aviation, information technology and food security.
He explained that the two countries have an important geographical location through which they can access major markets in Europe, Africa and Asia, in addition to their investment capabilities and components, highlighting the UAE’s keenness to strengthen its economic and trade partnership with Ukraine, in order to achieve the development agenda of both countries and the growth of their economies.
Dr. Al Zeyoudi briefed the Ukrainian Minister of Economy on what the UAE had achieved during the past period in order to build a promising investment environment rich in opportunities and capabilities that encourage the growth and prosperity of business in various economic and commercial activities, and build international partnerships with targeted strategic markets.
“The UAE, through the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPA) programme, signed four agreements with India, Israel, Indonesia and Turkiye, in line with the vision of its wise leadership aimed at building a solid national economy based on openness, competitiveness and innovation,” he further said.
Dr. Al Zeyoudi highlighted the vital and prominent role of the NextGenFDI initiative in enhancing the country’s attractiveness to foreign direct investment, by attracting international companies to its markets, as the initiative succeeded in attracting many international companies operating in the sectors of technology, advanced applications and digital solutions, in a way that contributes to strengthening the UAE’s global position as a leading hub for business, investment and innovation, consolidating the growth and sustainability of its national economy.
In this context, the Minister of State for Foreign Trade explained that the NextGenFDI initiative provides an integrated set of advantages and supportive opportunities to facilitate the transfer of companies to the country, including accelerating establishment processes, obtaining licences, issuing visas, golden residency, supporting the transition of management and employees, obtaining bank financing and commercial and residential rental incentives.
Dr. Al Zeyoudi underlined the investment incentives provided by the UAE’s pioneering economic environment, including the comprehensive development of the economic legislation system, allowing full foreign ownership of companies, and facilitating procedures for establishing business practices, in a way that consolidates the UAE’s position as a global hub for trade and investment.
He also reviewed the indicators and results of the country’s economic growth, the most prominent of which is the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade reaching more than AED2.2 trillion in 2022 for the first time in its history; achieving an unprecedented growth of 8.5 percent of GDP at constant state prices during the first half of 2022; and the Central Bank of the UAE raising its expectations for real GDP to reach 7.6 percent by the end of 2022, and 3.9 percent in 2023.
For her part, Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister Svyrydenko said that the UAE-Ukraine economic and trade relations are based on fruitful cooperation and continuous development in various fields, noting that the meeting represents a new step in accelerating the pace of joint action in order to conclude the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the two countries, which will contribute to advancing bilateral economic relations to new and competitive levels, in a way that supports the development of mutual trade and investment during the next stage, enhancing the opportunities and capabilities for the business communities in the two countries.
The UAE was Ukraine’s second trade partner at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) level during 2021, and the volume of non-oil intra-trade between the two countries reached more than AED1.4 billion (US$388 million) in 2022.
The volume of direct Emirati investments in Ukraine amounted to US$100 million until September 2020, making the UAE the largest foreign investor in Ukraine at the level of Arab countries, while the total Ukrainian investments in the UAE reached US$84 million until the beginning of 2021.
The UAE’s investments in Ukraine targeted many sectors, including manufacturing, transportation, storage, gas, retail trade, real estate and agriculture. Ukrainian investments in the UAE also included real estate, retail trade, manufacturing, transportation, warehousing and technology sectors.
Source: Emirates news Agency