Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade, held a series of high-level meetings with senior officials, ministers and business leaders during the World Governments Summit 2025, in which he underlined the UAE’s commitment to trade and innovation as key drivers of long-term, sustainable growth.
The discussions centered on pathways to deepen collaboration, accelerate the flow of goods and services and direct investments into priority sectors such as energy, logistics, food security and advanced technology.
“The UAE has a long-standing belief that foreign trade and investment are the key to sustainable economic development, industrial productivity and innovation. My meetings with ministers this week have highlighted that nations across the world are not only keen to expand their trade networks but make trade simpler, faster and more efficient,” Al Zeyoudi stated.
Al Zeyoudi meets with key officials
In his meetings with Liza Araneta-Marcos, First Lady of the Philippines, and Sonexay Siphandone, Prime Minister of Laos, Al Zeyoudi restated the increasing importance of the ASEAN region to the UAE, and the nation’s willingness to cement ties to a region with well-developed manufacturing and food-production sectors.
With Manoa Seru Nakausabaria Kamikamica, Deputy Prime Minister of Fiji, talks revolved around logistics, the fishing industry and the importance of moving forward with climate-mitigation policies.
Al Zeyoudi also discussed improving connections to Latin America with Gabriela García, Minister of Economy of Guatemala and Félix Ulloa, Vice President of El Salvador. Moreover, trade and investment with the key industrial state of Michigan, USA was the focus of the discussions with Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Al Zeyoudi also held talks with Erkki Keldo, Minister of Economy and Industry of Estonia, and Ismaël M’Fala Nabé, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation of Guinea.
Al Zeyoudi reviews key CEPAs
The World Government Summit also provided the opportunity to review several of the UAE’s Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements. Al Zeyoudi met with Bùi Thanh Sơn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, with which the UAE signed a CEPA in October 2024.
He also held a discussion with Luis Carlos Reyes Hernández, Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism of Colombia, a CEPA partner since April 2024.
He said the meetings serve to strengthen the UAE’s position as an important partner for economic development across the world.
“Our CEPA program is establishing corridors of growth between Asia, Africa and the Americas, and many countries are expressing their interest in deepening their collaboration with us. I look forward to continuing these conversations to ensure a prosperous and equitable future for all,” he added.
The UAE’s CEPA program is a cornerstone of its efforts to drive non-oil foreign trade to AED4 trillion ($1.1 trillion) by 2031 and foster international cooperation with strategic markets such as the ASEAN bloc, which has a GDP of more than $2.9 trillion and a population of 647 million people.
With CEPAs already in force with Indonesia, Vietnam, Colombia, and others, the UAE continues to bolster its ties with the region and consolidate its status as a global trade hub that connects high-growth economies and expands opportunities for the private sector across Asia.
UAE’s non-oil foreign trade hits AED3 trillion in 2024
Last week, Al Zeyoudi stated that the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade has continued its upward trajectory, reaching AED3 trillion in 2024, with a record annual increase of 14.6 percent compared to 2023. “The milestone also means we have achieved 75 percent of the AED4 trillion target set in the ‘We the UAE 2031’ national vision with seven full years remaining,” he said.
The expansion of foreign trade is a key pillar of the UAE’s national economic strategy. Through the CEPA program, the country is expanding opportunities for the private sector by enhancing access to high-growth markets around the world.
“In 2024, we have been able to see the positive impact of this program. Total exports to CEPA partner countries reached AED135 billion in 2024, an increase of 42.3 percent and contributing 24 percent of our total non-oil exports. India and Türkiye are the two leading destinations for non-oil exports,” Al Zeyoudi added.
Minister calls on tech pioneers to expand regional footprint
The transformative power of artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotechnology and sustainability-driven technologies was also a major theme at this year’s World Governments Summit. In a conversation with Roberto Viola, director-general of the European Commission’s CONNECT project, Al Zeyoudi outlined the UAE’s efforts to harness advanced technology to improve industrial efficiency and innovation – and to establish the appropriate regulatory frameworks to facilitate it.
Al Zeyoudi also underlined the UAE’s role as a champion of innovation with key industry pioneers such as Shilpan Amin of GM International, Akash Palkhiwala of Qualcomm, Arvind Krishna of IBM, and Jean-Pascal Tricoire of Schneider Electric. Al Zeyoudi welcomed their contribution to the UAE’s dynamic business ecosystem and invited them to deepen their regional footprint.
