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29 March 2024

UAE, Austria discuss economic, commercial relations

Published
By Wam

Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy and Hartwig Loger, Austrian Minister of Finance have discussed means of strengthening the overall economic, commercial and investment cooperation between the UAE and Austria.

During the meeting, which was held at the premises of the Ministry of Economy in Dubai, they also discussed other key issues, such as exchanging expertise and establishing public and private sector partnerships.

Al Mansouri highlighted the solid economic relations between the UAE and Austria as part of the efforts of both countries leadership and their advanced economies, as well as the positive impact of their recent exchange of high-level visits, the latest of which was the visit of Sebastian Kurz, Chancellor of Austria, to the UAE in April.

He also explained the characteristics of the UAE’s economy, including its diversity and competitiveness, as well as the country’s leading position in the international trade and investment sectors.

Al Mansouri highlighted that the digital economy is the most important model for building future economies, in light of the successive developments in the technology and telecommunications sectors and their impact on future global trade and investment.

He added that the cooperation between the two countries must follow two parallel paths, the first of which will involve joint work and exchanging expertise in developing relevant international legislation, in light of the cross-border nature of the digital economy while highlighting the importance of the cooperation between the UAE and Austria and the participation of officials and experts from other friendly countries and international organisations to creating integrated and consistent legislative systems that will regulate standards, transparency and communication, which will achieve their desired growth in the digital economy and strengthen their commercial ties.

The second path is based on technological cooperation in the digital economy, creating an appropriate economic environment and implementing relevant government services to keep pace with economic digitisation.

Al Mansouri affirmed that the cooperation between the two countries could include many other sectors, most notably renewable energy, logistical services, civil aviation, smart cities solutions, and green and environmentally-friendly development practices.

Loger commended the strong historic relations between his country and the UAE, which will witness continuous growth while highlighting his country’s efforts to strengthen its communication and partnership with the UAE.

He added that the digital economy is being prioritised by the Austrian Government while noting his country’s desire to exchange expertise and opinions with the UAE and create a prosperous partnership in this area.

Loger also stressed the importance of presenting cooperation opportunities in the areas of electricity, renewable energy and water while pointing out that Austria leads the world in developing water solutions, which will provide new opportunities for cooperation.

Both sides highlighted the importance of Austria’s participation in the Expo 2020 Dubai, which is an international platform to present the latest products, technologies and services.

The value of trade between the UAE and Austria witnessed significant growth in 2017, when their total non-oil commercial exchange was around US$1.3 billion, rising from around US$1.2 billion, an increase of 8.3 percent.