The Abu Dhabi Government has introduced a set of incentives and exemptions for Saudi citizens looking to invest in the UAE capital, a senior UAE official said today.These include exempting Saudi investors of certain fees for Abu Dhabi Chamber and providing 100,000 square meter for Saudi investors with projects on specialized economic zones for up to three years, Saif Al Hajeri, Chairman at Abu Dhabi Department of Economics development announced at UAE-Saudi Business Forum today.

Abu Dhabi Ports has also offered several incentives for Saudi investors at Khalifa Industrial Zone (KIZAD), with discounts of up to 15 percent of the value of rents of warehouses, industrial zones, and offices.

“Today, we have 185 investment opportunities across the different sectors worth more than AED 100 billion for local, Saudi and GCC investors. These opportunities exist in energy, healthcare, education, tourism, real esate, as well as other sectors,” Khalifa Bin Salem Al Mansouri, Acting Under-Secretary of the Department of Economic Development (DED)- Abu Dhabi told Zawya at the sidelines of the event.

“The forum is a result of the political will between Saudi Arabia and UAE to enforce cooperation and complement efforts, and ministers announced today that this event will happen every two years,” he added.

Al Mansouri said that Saudi investors will be treated the same as UAE investors in many areas and will be exempt from several costs incurred at the beginning of commercial activity to facilitate business between both countries.

“We come out today with important decisions to establish a team to solve the challenges faced by investors at both sides, as well as to propose investment opportunities and increase the prospects of mutual investments,” Al Mansouri said.© ZAWYA 2017