Abu Dhabi, October 25 / WAM / His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, received His Excellency Neil Gray, Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Welfare Economics, Fair Work and Energy in the United Arab Emirates. Wednesday (10/25).
During the meeting, ways of developing trade and investment opportunities between the two countries were discussed. This is the latest in a series of high-level exchanges between the UAE and Scotland and reflects the strength of bilateral relations.
The meeting concluded with the signing of a memorandum of understanding aimed at enhancing bilateral trade, private sector and academic partnerships in the fields of advanced technology, innovation, education and research.
In particular, the MoU is designed to enhance cooperation in priority sectors such as clean energy and artificial intelligence, and is a direct result of the work of the UAE-Scotland Joint Task Force, which was established earlier this year to develop areas of mutual interest.
Dr. Thani announced that the memorandum of understanding is another important step in bilateral relations. He said: “The UAE and Scotland are increasingly similar partners, two countries working to harness technology, innovation, investment and talent to transform our economies and achieve new chapters of success.”
“As we seek to achieve a knowledge economy capable of embracing the potential of the next 50 years, it is important to exchange ideas, knowledge and experiences with countries on a similar growth path and establish joint initiatives in the public, private and academic spheres that can achieve this.” Enhancing our ambitions for economic diversification. He said that this memorandum indicates our intention to deepen our cooperation with Scotland and build a long-term beneficial partnership.
Commenting on the agreement, Neil Gray said: “I welcome this progress in developing Scotland’s relationship with the UAE. Collaborating with the UAE and other countries to deepen our economic ties, achieve our shared green energy goals and promote a just transition has never been more possible.” . Most importantly, I hope this agreement will help us create a more sustainable and prosperous economy.
The UAE and Scotland already maintain fruitful economic relations. The two countries exchanged non-oil trade exceeding US$870 million in 2022, an increase of 70% from 2021. Scotland exported goods worth US$625 million to the UAE, representing 8.6% of the UAE’s total exports from the UK to the UAE last year. The two countries have also made several strategic investments in recent years, including the development of the Hywind Scotland Farm, a 30-MW experimental floating offshore wind farm in the North Sea.
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