Bilateral trade and investment relations between the U.A.E. and the U.S. have registered an upward trend and are poised for further exponential growth with the two countries keen to strengthen ties as lucrative and untapped opportunities continue to open, the Minister of Economy, Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, has said.
In a statement on the occasion of his visit to the U.S., leading a U.A.E. business delegation for collaborative discussions with senior American officials, he said, “We see diverse opportunities and avenues for bolstering cooperation between the two countries. The U.S. and the U.A.E. have a strong existing economic and commercial partnership. Bilateral non-oil trade between two countries reached U.S.$26.9 billion in 2013, and the U.A.E. continues to retain its lead among MENA-region countries as the largest export market for U.S. goods and services.
“The fifth U.S. – U.A.E. Economic Policy Dialogue held in Abu Dhabi in April 2014 paved the way for stronger commercial linkages to meet the potential of the future. Our current visit to the U.S. will include collaborative talks to cement partnerships in key business areas such as energy, aviation, information technology and healthcare,” he said.
The U.A.E. side includes senior officials from the Ministry of Economy, Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), Dubai Internet City, Dubai Outsource Zone (DOZ), Dubai Exports (an agency of Dubai’s Department of Economic Development), Sharjah Tatweer Forum, Mubadala Aerospace, Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Abu Dhabi Technology Development Committee (TDC), the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Fund, as well as a number of the executives of private-sector companies.
The delegation’s visit to the U.S. is expected to drive brisk investments on projects of mutual interest and enhance trade cooperation between the two countries at both the government and private level. As part of its U.S. tour, the U.A.E. delegation will visit Washington D.C., Seattle, Palo Alto, Silicon Valley and Los Angeles.
Al Mansouri noted that the Ministry of Economy, in line with the vision of the U.A.E. leadership, is keen to help shape a knowledge-based economy that adds significant value, to the tune of at least five percent, to the U.A.E.’s GDP by 2021.
He said, “Given this priority, we are focused on nurturing ideas that will develop different economic sectors while improving our competitiveness at an international level. The United States accounts for the world’s biggest global corporations and the strongest innovation and technology organisations. During our tour to the country, we will aim to forge strong partnerships that boost the U.A.E.’s knowledge credentials.
“Our delegates will aim to learn from the different experiences across sectors and eventually look to establishing the U.A.E.’s presence in the identified key growth areas.” According to the Ministry of Economy, the U.A.E.’s foreign trade grew at an average rate of 12.6 percent during the last three years to reach more than U.S. $290 billion at the end of 2013.
Trade between the two countries helped create more than 200,000 jobs in the U.S. as the U.A.E. is the largest recipient of U.S. exports to the Middle East. In the meantime, the U.A.E.’s direct investments to financial markets in the U.S. and the American economy grew to more than U.S.$21 billion.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Economy, the U.A.E. hosts more than 1,000 U.S. companies, many of which have regional offices in the country. The U.A.E. is also home to more than 60,000 U.S. citizens.
Source : WAM News Agency for United Arab Emirates
