The UAE Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri held a meeting with Ahmed Samir Saleh, Egypt’s minister of trade and industry, to discuss enhancing economic cooperation between the two countries.
Al Marri emphasized the strong bilateral relations between the UAE and Egypt, highlighting the shared vision and regional cooperation between their leaderships.
The meeting focused on exploring new pathways for collaboration in sectors of common interest, such as fintech, climate change, sustainable agriculture, agricultural innovation, food security, logistics, renewable energy, and digital services.
Both sides agreed to expand and diversify their economic and trade cooperation, providing support to the private sector and seeking promising opportunities in their respective markets.
Al Marri also highlighted the UAE’s efforts to create a favorable business environment, including measures like allowing up to 100 percent foreign ownership, protecting intellectual property, and attracting talent and creative minds. He encouraged the Egyptian private sector to take advantage of the benefits and incentives offered by the UAE’s economy, including global investment platforms and comprehensive economic partnership agreements. The aim is to foster growth and expansion in the UAE, the wider Gulf region, and Asia.
AED 247.6 billion
According to a report from the Emirates News Agency, the trade between the UAE and Egypt has reached a total of AED 247.6 billion ($67.4 billion) over a span of 22 years.
The UAE is Egypt’s second-largest trade partner in the region, and Egypt ranks fifth in terms of non-oil trade partners for the UAE among Arab countries. The UAE is also the largest international investor in Egypt, with investments exceeding AED 55 billion.
The non-oil trade between the two countries has experienced significant growth, increasing by 3,635 percent since 2000.
In 2022, the trade exchange between the UAE and Egypt amounted to over AED 27.79 billion.
The UAE and Egypt have established significant investment projects and partnerships, including the Industrial Partnership for Sustainable Economic Growth and a $10 billion investment fund. Egyptian companies have also invested over AED4 billion in the UAE.
Read more: UAE, Egypt strike deal to develop 10GW wind power project
Increasing trade
The trade between the UAE and Egypt witnessed a 6.5 percent growth, reaching $4.6 billion during the first 11 months of 2022. This indicates an increase compared to the trade volume of $4.3 billion recorded during the same period in 2021.
In the specified period, the UAE saw an increase in its investments in Egypt, with a surge of 300.8 percent to reach $5.7 billion during FY2021/2022, compared to $1.4 billion in FY2020/2021.
Additionally, Egyptian exports to the UAE experienced a year-on-year growth of 14.4 percent, reaching $1.8 billion, while imports from the UAE reached $2.8 billion, up from $2.7 billion in the same period of the previous year. Furthermore, remittances from Egyptian expatriates working in the UAE rose to $3.5 billion in FY2020/2021, surpassing the $3.4 billion recorded in FY2019/2020.
In April 2023, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the UAE President, held discussions with Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, with the aim of enhancing both economic and political ties between the two nations.
Under the slogan “Egypt and the UAE: One Heart,” the two nations commemorated the milestone of 50 years of bilateral relations last year.
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