Meetings take place on the sidelines of WFZO annual conference in Dubai

Abu Dhabi, 8 May 2023: H.E. Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, held a meeting with his Armenian counterpart H.E. Vahan Kerobyan to discuss the strengthening of trade and investment relations between the two countries. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the World Free Zones Organization’s annual international conference and exhibition 2023, which was held in Dubai.

Emphasizing the strength of bilateral relations between the UAE and Armenia, H.E. Bin Touq noted that these relations continue to grow in areas of mutual interest, thanks to the shared commitment of both leaderships to making it happen. The UAE is Armenia’ largest GCC trade partner and second largest Arab partner as of 2021.

H.E. added: “The non-oil trade between the two countries witnessed a sevenfold growth in 2022 to exceed AED 5.6 billion (USD 1.5 billion), up 611 per cent from 2021. It accounted for more than 90 per cent of Armenia's trade with the GCC countries and a third of its trade with the Arab countries. On the other hand, Armenia accounted for 10 per cent of the UAE's trade with the Eurasian markets in 2022.”

The meeting explored enhanced cooperation in various fields including the new economy sectors, agriculture, tourism, travel, hospitality, energy, renewable energy, space, circular economy, air transport, and ICT. It discussed how the Armenian private sector can optimize the facilities and enablers offered by the UAE’s free zones, and the integral part they play in enhancing the investment and business environment.

The UAE is the largest Arab and 11th largest global investor in Armenia, with investments valued at AED 130 million (USD 35 million) by the end of 2021. Meanwhile, Armenian investments in the UAE totaled nearly AED 115.3 million (USD 31.4 million) by the end of 2020.

UAE and Dominican Republic explore deeper cooperation

In a similar context, H.E. Bin Touq held another bilateral meeting with H.E. Ito Bisonó, Dominican Minister of Industry and Trade, to discuss the framework for deeper economic and trade cooperation between the two countries in the sectors of tourism, renewable energy, mining, logistics, agriculture, and food industry. H.E. Bin Touq emphasized that the UAE and the Dominican Republic have always enjoyed close strategic relations and cooperation on all fronts.

H.E. Bin Touq apprised the Dominican side of the UAE’s efforts in developing exceptional facilities and advanced infrastructure in its free zones and issuing pioneering economic policies and legislation to enhance the competitiveness and flexibility of the investment climate. Most notably, the UAE has made substantial amendments to the commercial companies’ law to grant full foreign ownership of companies to investors in all economic sectors. Besides, new laws for family businesses, cooperatives, commercial transactions, and commercial agencies were issued, apart from the launch of the golden visa system for many categories with a residency period ranging from 5-10 years. These measures are significantly contributing to attracting business owners and talented individuals to the UAE, thus strengthening its position as a leading destination for FDI, business and trade, at regional and global levels.

The non-oil foreign trade between the UAE and the Dominican Republic saw a 59 per cent growth in 2022 to total AED 235 million (USD 64 million). This also reflects a 214 per cent and 147 per cent growth compared to that of 2020 and 2019 respectively. The UAE is Dominican Republic’s second largest GCC and Arab trade partner as of 2021.
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