Page 267 - MOE ENGLISH PR REPORT - SEPTEMBER 2024 (Part 1)

“free trade agreement” – another key benefit may be investment. New Zealand’s new
center-right government has made no secret of its desire to prioritize
new infrastructure investment – particularly in roads – while the UAE is home to three of the
world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds: Mubadala, the Emirates Investment Authority (EIA)

and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

Remarkably, the UAE CEPA negotiations seem to have helped, rather than hindered New
Zealand’s relations with the GCC and the other fiercely competitive Gulf states. In August,
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani
travelled to Wellington – a first for a Qatari leader. And earlier this month, Todd McClay,
New Zealand’s trade minister, headed to Riyadh on a little-publicized but crucial visit.

McClay’s trip prompted a particularly warm and substantive Arabic-language post on
social media by Dr. Majid Al-Kassabi, the Saudi commerce minister. Al-Kassabi reported
that the pair had “discussed ways to enhance our trade relations, most notably the

negotiations for the Free Trade Agreement between the Gulf Cooperation Council countries
and New Zealand and to benefit from our experiences in implementing economic reforms
to enhance competitiveness and enable ease of doing business.”

For now, however, the spotlight will remain very much on the UAE. And while there is much
to be celebrated about the CEPA, there will also be some challenges. The UAE’s
ambassador to New Zealand recently addressed the Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade
select committee at the New Zealand Parliament. While the reception for Ambassador
Rashed Matar Alqemzi was generally very warm and welcoming, he was also quizzed by
David Parker, the opposition Labor Party’s foreign affairs spokesperson, on claims that the

UAE is providing arms to parties involved in Sudan’s civil war.

Abu Dhabi categorically denies the allegations, which have received greater publicity since
U.S. rapper Macklemore cancelled a concert in Dubai in August as a protest, including a
local report that aired on Television New Zealand (TVNZ). Earlier this month, Anwar
Gargash – a high-profile former UAE minister of state for foreign affairs and now a senior
diplomatic adviser to the country’s president – posted “there is no military solution in
Sudan & warring parties must work towards finding a peaceful solution to the conflict
through dialogue & diplomacy.”

In Wellington, Alqemzi told the committee the UAE followed international law and pointed
to Abu Dhabi’s significant humanitarian efforts: “If you see what we contributed in Sudan, it
will give you the right answer to your questions.”

Meanwhile, on the CEPA itself, there have been strong words of support from trade-focused
groups such as Export New Zealand and the New Zealand International Business Forum.

https://thediplomat.com/2024/09/new-zealands-trade-deal-with-the-uae-could-be-the-
start-of-something-much-bigger/