U.A.E. Minister of Economy, Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, has emphsised that the long-standing economic relations with Italy are growing fast as the two countries are working on opening new avenues to boost their cooperation, reciprocal investments and trade.
“Figures of trade between the two friendly countries continue to grow and Italy has become today U.A.E.’s second largest trade partner in Europe. Non-oil trade between the two countries in 2013 stood at US$6,05 billion, but we believe that in the future there will be big promising opportunities that will enable us to increase this figure. Recently, a number of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were signed by the two countries on major sectors and also on cultural, arts and media cooperation,” said Minister Al Mansouri in his opening remarks at the Italy-U.A.E. Business Forum, organised in Marche Region, Italy, on Sunday under the theme “Our vision, our future – From Milano Expo 2015 to Dubai Expo 2020.” U.A.E. is bolstering its competitiveness through building a knowledge-based economy and transforming itself into a regional research and development (R&D) hub, Minister Al Mansouri added noting also that the government encourages entrepreneurship in industrial, tourism and industrial sectors.
The minister also noted that more than 200 Italian companies are operating in U.A.E. which became the top destination in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for foreign direct investments thanks to the favourable relevant legislations, tax exemption and easy money transfer.
Source : WAM News Agency for United Arab Emirates
