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5/9/24, 4:06 PM UAE participates in 3rd Arab Economy and Cooperation Forum with Central Asian States and Azerbaijan – The Gulf Time Newspaper
strengthen cooperation in new and sustainable economic sectors, especially technology, artificial
intelligence, digital transformation and advanced applications. Tourism, circular economy, green economy,

entrepreneurship, and other future sectors are also equally important. We should also consider exploring
new mechanisms that contribute to facilitating tourism flows between the countries participating in the
Forum. This will promote sustainable tourism development in both regions by exploiting the tourism potential

of all our countries.”
Furthermore, the Minister of Economy elaborated on the UAE’s vision to foster the growth and sustainability

of the tourism and aviation sectors, including the launch of UAE Tourism Strategy 2031, which aims to raise
the sector’s contribution to the GDP to AED450 billion, and strengthen the UAE’s position as one of the best
global tourism destinations by the next decade. The UAE’s national aviation decarbonisation roadmap,

which seeks to achieve an annual production of up to 700 million litres of sustainable fuel (SAF) by 2030,
was also highlighted.
In addition, Bin Touq highlighted the UAE’s strong commitment to pursuing collaborative efforts, thus

contributing to achieving the goals set by the third session of the forum. These include the development of
tourism exchanges between Arab countries, Central Asia and Azerbaijan through facilitating cooperation

between relevant tourism organisations and entities. Strengthening cooperation in land, sea and air
transport sectors through joint projects and initiatives, besides sharing best practices and experiences in
such vital sectors, are also focus areas.

Furthermore, Bin Touq underscored the UAE’s readiness to share its experience in facing water scarcity
challenges, as the country gained global status in managing its water resources and devising proper

solutions, especially after hosting COP28, which placed water security on top of its agenda.
In this context, the participants welcomed the Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative (MBZWI), launched in the
UAE to increase awareness of the importance of the water scarcity crisis and its critical effects at the

international level. It also accelerates the development of innovative technological solutions to address this
challenge and enables cooperation with concerned international partners and parties to advance technology

innovation in addressing water scarcity. Besides, it contributes to expanding the scope of international
collaboration and increasing investments directed towards overcoming this global challenge.
The forum also underlined the importance of supporting agricultural cooperation and benefiting from

exceptional experiences in harnessing advanced agriculture technologies and smart irrigation systems. Also
highlighted was the need to promote cultural and scientific exchange by encouraging joint events and

exhibitions and strengthening the relationship between concerned universities and specialised centres.
The first session of the Arab Economic and Cooperation Forum with the Central Asian Countries and the
Republic of Azerbaijan was held in 2014 by virtue of an MoU signed between the foreign ministers of the

Central Asian countries and the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab
States.

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