UAE affirms close business ties with Iraq

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Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, asserted the country’s commitment to strengthening its strategic partnership with Iraq in different sectors, especially in terms of business and investment partnerships in high-priority sectors.

Al Zeyoudi made this statement during a visit to the International Development Bank’s headquarters in Dubai, where he met with the bank’s chairman Dr Ziad Khalaf. They discussed new courses for economic cooperation, as well as the Bank’s vital role in strengthening business and investment ties between the UAE and Iraq.

Al Zeyoudi stated: “Both parties are keen on further developing economic ties to serve the mutual interests of the two countries, and offer additional opportunities for entrepreneurs and the private sector in both markets. This commitment has positively reflected in the data depicting intraregional non-oil trade and the flow of mutual investment projects.”

Several common-interest topics were also covered, including cooperative efforts to foster promising business opportunities between the two countries and develop new means for strategic collaboration to boost trade and investments in key sectors.

Al Zeyoudi had the chance to review the Bank’s future plans and the achievements of its Dubai branch within a year and a half of its inception, notably its success in managing 10 per cent of all trade transactions between the UAE and Iraq, exceeding $27 billion yearly.

International Development Bank is the first Iraqi banking institution to open a branch in the UAE, cementing its status as a solid economic and business bridge connecting the Emirati and Iraqi markets.