UAE, Italy consolidating economic partnership

DUBAI- The UAE- Italy non-oil trade exchange amounted to US$7.8 billion in 2017 and exceeded $5.7 bn during the first nine months of 2018, according to Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy.

The minister said this while delivering the inaugural remarks of the Italy-UAE Business Forum which opened today in Dubai in the presence of Luigi Di Maio, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development of Italy.

The two ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, in the field of innovation, small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, and startups. They also attended the signing of another MoU between the Etihad Credit Insurance and joint Italian-Arab Chamber of Commerce on circular economy. The two MoUs are a step forward on the path towards consolidating cooperation across the sectors outlined by the UAE National Innovation Strategy, namely renewables, transportation, water, education, health and space in addition to other primary sectors prioritised by the Italian side, namely mechanic engineering, FinTech, biotechnology, and medical industry. The Italy-UAE Business Forum features panel discussions taking place simultaneously on Infrastructure, Energy, Water and Environment and ITC. It's looking at fresh prospects to cement bilateral trade relations and support the growth and development of the UAE.

"The UAE is Italy's largest Arab trade partner and the European country is the UAE's fourth largest European partner and second largest exporter in Europe, according to the 2017 statistics," Al Mansouri added, noting that UAE exports to Italy grew 7.7 percent during the first nine months of 2018 as compared to the corresponding period in 2017. For his part, Di Maio underlined Italy's determination to beef up partnership ties with the UAE, not only in the trade sphere, but also to advance cooperation across all fronts.

"The UAE boasts a strong economy and robust investment potential and we are keen to widen the scope of cooperation in areas like renewable energy, infrastructure, real estate investment, as well as innovation," he added.