The eighth session of the UAE-New Zealand Joint Economic Committee was held on recently in Dubai, on the sidelines of Expo 2020 Dubai, chaired by H.E. Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade and H.E. Damian O’Connor, Minister for Trade and Export Growth of New Zealand. Government officials, investors, and business community representatives from both countries attended the session.

The latest edition of the JEC defined seven new tracks aimed at consolidating the economic partnership between the two countries over the next two years, including the development of trade and mutual investment, advanced technology and innovative industries, agriculture and food security, energy and renewable energy, logistics services, tourism, and entrepreneurship and small and medium-sized enterprises. The session also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Etihad Credit Export Insurance in UAE and the New Zealand Export Credit Agency to enhance the momentum of trade and increase export-related investments between the two countries.

H.E. Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, underlined the depth of bilateral relations between the UAE and New Zealand, explaining that the economic partnership between the two countries has constantly evolved towards further progress and prosperity. In particular, he highlighted the potential for collaboration between the two countries’ business communities, which could contribute to enhancing economic and trade cooperation, he noted.

H.E. said: “The non-oil trade between the UAE and New Zealand amounted to nearly AED 2.8 billion by the end of 2021, reflecting a growth of 14.2% compared to 2020 and a 13.4% increase compared to 2019. The UAE is New Zealand’s 10th largest trading partner globally, accounting for 2.5% of New Zealand’s foreign trade. We are also New Zealand’s number one Arab trading partner, accounting for 50% of its trade with the Arab world. Meanwhile, the UAE’s direct investments in New Zealand totaled AED 625 million by the end of March 2021. Meanwhile, New Zealand has investments worth more than AED 272.5 million in the UAE.”

In addition, H.E. Al Zeyoudi briefed the New Zealand side on the leading economic initiatives adopted by the UAE under the guidance of its wise leadership to build a competitive economy based on knowledge and innovation and led by national competencies. He highlighted the wide array of flexible legislation recently launched by the UAE within the ‘Projects of the 50’ and the ‘UAE Centennial 2071’ goals aimed at transitioning to a more sustainable and flexible economic model. These include the granting of 100% foreign ownership of companies and measures to attract talent and competencies to all strategic areas, in addition to measures to enhance the business environment’s attractiveness before leading companies and startups based on technology and innovation. These initiatives contribute to enhancing the UAE economy’s global leadership, thus establishing the country as an attractive destination for investment and stimulating foreign direct investment flows to the country.

Furthermore, H.E. Al Zeyoudi invited the New Zealand business community to learn about the many incentives the UAE offers. He highlighted the central role of the Joint Economic Committee in the exploration of promising growth opportunities and as a principal platform for bilateral economic cooperation. He further noted that the next phase will focus on stimulating investment in future sectors such as advanced technology, as well as sharing experiences in the deployment of innovation in industrial development, economic diversification, production capabilities, modern agricultural technology and food security, renewable energy, logistics, talent attraction and many others.

The minister also called for intensified joint efforts to implement the Committee’s outputs on the ground and to move to a new level of partnership with a major contribution from the private sector and the full support of the two governments.

Meanwhile, H.E. Damian O’Connor said that relations between the two countries are based on strong ties, noting that the UAE is a key trade partner for New Zealand. He highlighted the UAE’s vital position as an active logistics gateway facilitating the flow of New Zealand’s exports to the Middle East, Asian, and African markets.

He added: “We are keen to strengthen our trade and economic relations with the UAE by forging new partnerships with the public and private sectors, in light of what was discussed during the latest JEC session held in the New Zealand Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. We will work to strengthen our cooperation with the UAE in the areas of agricultural technology, innovation, and trade facilitation.” H.E. further expressed his pleasure at the signing of the MoUs that outline close cooperation efforts between the two countries in the areas of food security and export credit, noting that his country is looking forward to achieving higher levels of economic partnership with the UAE in the next phase.

The eighth JEC session saw the UAE and New Zealand agree on the importance of continuing efforts to explore further opportunities for economic cooperation in priority sectors at the governmental and private levels. The meeting of the Committee also witnessed the signing of an MoU between the Etihad Credit Export Insurance in the UAE and the New Zealand Export Credit Agency to enhance the momentum of trade and increase mutual export investment, as well as cooperate in insurance and re-insurance opportunities and co-insurance services to support commodity exports, investments and services.

The two sides also agreed on encouraging the business communities of both sides to review prominent opportunities, facilities, and benefits available in both markets and explore new aspects of promoting trade and mutual investment, and enter into private joint investments in sectors of common interest.

The UAE side invited its New Zealand counterpart to participate in the upcoming annual trade and investment events hosted by the country such as Gulfood; GITEX Technology Week, and the Investopia Summit, which will launch its first session in Dubai on March 28 alongside Expo 2020 this year.

The meeting also saw the agreement to strengthen cooperation in the areas of tourism, renewable energy, agricultural security, logistics, entrepreneurship, civil aviation, communications, maritime operations, industrial ports, and free zones, thus developing and facilitating trade and improving the efficiency of supply chains between the two countries. The two sides also agreed to develop a joint plan of action with a promising agenda for cooperation in the areas of modern agriculture and food security in the interest of the economic growth for the two countries.

Moreover, both sides underlined the importance of strengthening research and development partnerships in emerging renewable energy technologies such as battery and solar energy storage and waste conversion, as well as promoting cooperation between companies in the two countries to invest in this sector. The importance of exploring opportunities to share experiences in the SME policies and programs and driving SMEs’ digital transformation, and cooperation in the development of an advanced technological environment for startups and entrepreneurships were also discussed.