UAE-Israel financial dialogue discusses new avenues of cooperation

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The UAE and Israel are targeting to boost bilateral trade beyond $10 billion in five years.

The UAE on Wednesday disclosed that it held the first Financial Dialogue with Israel set business priorities and explore new avenues for bilateral cooperation.

In a statement, the Ministry of Finance said it held the virtual dialogue session with the Ministry of Finance of Israel to boost cooperation ties and encourage innovation in the field of financial services between the two countries.

Younis Haji Al Khoori, Undersecretary of Ministry of Finance, who headed the UAE delegation in the dialogue, lauded the significant progress achieved between both ministries since the historic Abraham Accords Peace Agreement, which was demonstrated in the agreements and a memorandum of understanding including the Bilateral Investment Treaty signed in October 2020, and the Double Taxation Agreements signed in May 2021.

In his opening speech, Al Khoori welcomed all the participants, stressing the importance of this platform, which is a testament to the strength of the relationship between both countries, and provides excellent opportunities to exchange policies, regulations, and business priorities, while also exploring new avenues for bilateral cooperation.

He also mentioned that the recently signed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa) between the UAE and Israel will further solidify the bilateral relations between both countries and create new opportunities to develop priority sectors such as agri-tech, renewable energy, and advanced technology.

The UAE and Israel are targeting to boost bilateral trade beyond $10 billion in five years. Bilateral trade climbed $2.357 billion (excluding software) during the first 11 months of 2022, reflecting an increase of 115.1 per cent compared to the same period in 2021 as both the nations signed Cepa last year.

“In the UAE, and in-line with the global development agenda, we are actively exploring avenues to promote sustainable finance, which is an important strategic objective for the UAE as we seek to integrate global efforts within this area as part of our preparation for hosting COP28 this year,” Al Khoori noted.

"The topics we discussed today is of great importance to both of our countries, given our shared positions as regional investment hubs and our aligned strategic objectives of encouraging innovation in our countries,” he said.

“The UAE-Israel Financial Dialogue brings together the ministries of finance and central banks, as we believe it is important to keep an open dialogue between both countries to discuss issues that impact our financial systems and potential areas of bilateral and regional cooperation,” he said.

Al Khoori concluded that the UAE will continue to be a regional leader in economic reforms, international trade, political stability, and peacemaking to achieve economic opportunities for future generations to come.

The dialogue session discussed a number of issues related to macroeconomic trends and policies, means of cyber-financial cooperation, and opportunities and potentials for bilateral cooperation between the two countries at the regional and global levels, such as the World Bank and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Ms Shira Greenberg, chief economist, director of state revenue, research, and international affairs, Ministry of Finance, represented the Israeli side in dialogue which also attended by senior officials from both the governments.