Page 63 - MOE ENGLISH PR - MAY 2024

Press Release

legislation, and their contributions to diversifying the economy and creating promising
opportunities for the private sector.

Italian private sector urged to capitalize on benefits offered by UAE economy

H.E. Bin Touq’s meeting with H.E. Adolfo Urso, Italian Minister of Industry, discussed the
strengthening of collaboration in establishing new projects across various economic sectors and
maximizing the benefits offered by economic agreements and partnerships between the two
countries, given their strategic geographical locations. They explored the means to enable both
UAE and Italian private sectors to benefit from ‘Investopia Europe,’ a key platform to explore
promising investment opportunities in emerging markets and learn about global investment trends
in new economic sectors.

H.E. Bin Touq urged the Italian private sector to take advantage of the UAE’s dynamic business
environment, which is teeming with promising economic prospects. He highlighted the flexible
and competitive economic regulations and policies that facilitate the establishment of various
businesses, entrepreneurial activities, and innovative startup ventures in the country. Most notably,
this includes the amendments made to the Commercial Companies Law to allow 100 per cent
foreign ownership of companies. This adjustment led to the incorporation of over 275,000 new
companies in just 18 months, taking the total number of companies operating in the UAE to more
than 788,000 by the end of 2023. The UAE's top global ranking as an ideal destination to set up
new business ventures, as recognized by the GEM 2023-2024 report, was also highlighted during
the meeting.

Development of economic partnership between UAE and Cyprus

During another bilateral meeting with H.E. George Papanastasiou, Minister of Energy, Commerce
and Industry of Cyprus, H.E. Bin Touq discussed the development of the UAE-Cyprus economic
partnership in the new economic sectors. These include tourism, entrepreneurship, technology,
green economy, energy, renewable energy, circular economy, digital transformation, health, and
education. He noted the importance of exchanging best practices and experiences in improving the
efficiency and effectiveness of the energy sector in the two countries, notably with regard to the
modern technology used in the field of renewable energy.

Moreover, H.E. Bin Touq highlighted the UAE’s efforts in diversifying its national economy and
shifting towards new economic sectors, thus creating a more flexible and sustainable economic
model. As a result, the non-oil sector’s contribution to the UAE’s GDP reached 74 per cent. The
Minister of Economy also shed light on the innovative strategies and initiatives adopted by the
country such as the ‘We the UAE 2031’ vision that aims to position the country as a global hub for
the new economy, while also doubling the UAE economy to AED 3 trillion by the next decade.

2