Page 15 - Eagle Hills PR REPORT - MARCH 2024

3/15/24, 10:49 AM UAE to develop mega Budapest project in a deal that could be valued at $10.9bn
UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, left, and Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto
during their meeting in Budapest on March 13. AP
Globally, the UAE is exploring investment and acquisition opportunities in key sectors such as
clean energy, logistics and food security, the minister said.

“We will see many of the renewable energy announcements soon with many countries around
the world,” he said.

“Since I just came back from Hungary, it's one of the topics which we were discussing and
interested in doing with them, but it's still under technical dialogue.”

The Emirates, the Arab world’s second-largest economy, plans to achieve carbon neutrality by
2050.

It hosted the Cop28 climate conference in November, which introduced many companies and
funds to the opportunities in the UAE’s fast-growing clean energy industry.

UAE to exceed target of 26 Cepas

The UAE is focused on boosting its non-oil trade with countries around the world as it seeks to
diversify its economy and attract foreign investment.

The country will exceed its initial target of signing 26 Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Agreements (Cepas) because of its pace of work and interest from other countries, the minister
said.

“I believe we're going to go beyond the 26 trade deals because of the speed in which we're
working, the different approach and reach-out we're having from other countries,” he said.

“So for us it's a critical project, which we're going to continue moving forward.”

The UAE aims to conclude another seven to eight new Cepa deals in 2024, Dr Al Zeyoudi said.

The country is preparing the “final touches” for the official signing of Cepas that were concluded
in the last quarter of 2023 and early this year including with the Republic of the Congo, South
Korea, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mauritius and Kenya, the minister said.

The UAE is also close to concluding agreements in the next two to three weeks with Malaysia,
Vietnam, Chile and a fourth nation that he declined to name at this stage.

The UAE will “soon” start talks with New Zealand and Australia, the minister added.

“We are doing the official technical preparation. We are starting and we expecting to conclude
both countries before the end of the year,” he said.

Red Sea crisis impact
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The Red Sea shipping attacks that have disrupted global trade are a concern as they will affect
the global supply chain and the price of consumer goods, the minister said.

However, the UAE has “not seen much impact” on its global trade, he said, citing the country's
non-oil foreign trade hitting a record Dh3.5 trillion ($953 billion) in 2023.

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