(Abu Dhabi) – Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, and Pat Breen, Minister of Trade, Employment, Business, as well as European Union, EU, Digital Market and Data Protection of Ireland, discussed ways of reinforcing economic and commercial cooperation between the UAE and Ireland.
The meeting, which took place in Dubai on the sidelines of the 9th Emirati Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, SME, and Innovation Conference, was attended by officials from the Ministry of Economy and Irish officials.
During the meeting, both sides discussed ways of consolidating their partnership and developing their economic cooperation in areas of mutual concern, as well as reinforcing their investment cooperation in the areas of SMEs, entrepreneurship, innovation, technology, food security, agriculture, education and health.
Al Mansouri highlighted the current strong ties between the two countries and pointed out that they are witnessing continuous growth, while noting that Ireland is a key economic partner of the UAE. He also highlighted the UAE’s keenness to benefit from its ties with Ireland, to support its economic and commercial cooperation with EU countries, especially in agriculture and food security.
He also highlighted the importance of the coordination and cooperation between the two countries, including in reinforcing the legal frameworks to encourage investment, and exchanging expertise to support SMEs and connect the owners of start-ups from both countries.
Breen stressed the strong bilateral ties between the two countries, and noted Ireland’s keenness to support their economic and commercial cooperation.
He also pointed out that the UAE is a key economic partner of Ireland in the region, and highlighted the keenness of his country to create partnerships between companies and business establishments, especially start-ups.
The total volume of non-oil foreign trade between the two countries, including the free-zone trade, reached US$760 million in 2017, up from $745 million in 2016.
