Page 80 - MOE ENGLISH PR REPORT - MARCH 2025

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4/2/25, 3:09 PM UAE sup ports rules-based trad ng sys em for sus ain able devel op ment
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The UAE, he s aid, has now con clud e d Com pre hens ive Eco nomic Part ner ship Ag re e ments w ith
five Af rican nat ions - Kenya, Cent ral Af rican Repub lic, Congo-brazz a ville, Moro cco and Maur i -

t ius - and has op ene d dis cus sions w ith many more to ex p and the b ene fits of f re e trad e and
b o ost invest ment in key se c tors.
A l Kait also und er line d the UAE’S invest ment into reg ional value chains, cit ing the UAE’S Af rica
Eco nomic Cor ridor Strateg y, which aims to increase trad e by sup p ort ing the d evel op ment of

ne w log ist ics hubs across Sub-s aha ran Af rica, and the con tri bu t ion of Abu Dhabi Ports and DP
World to the d evel op ment of integ rate d log ist ics solu t ions for Af rican busi nesses.
This is in addi t ion to the UAE’S sup p ort for g re en indus tri al is a t ion, which is another core fo cus
of S outh Af rica’s G20 pres id ency. He note d the UAE’S sig ni fic ant invest ments in rene w able

energ y ven tures, w ith com mit ments of more than US$16.8 bil lion across 70 coun tries, the
major ity of them in the d evel op ing world.
In the final ses sion, the UAE high lighte d the imp ort ance of ensur ing the W TO is able to ful fil its
man d ate as the cus to dian of the glob al trad ing sys tem, esp e cially in its abil ity to address e co -

nomic asym met ries.
He note d the unpre ce d en te d pro g ress mad e on the areas of ag ri cul ture and fish er ies at the 13th
Min is terial Con fer ence (MC13) of the W TO, which was held in Abu Dhabi in Feb ru ar y, 2024, and
ex presse d hop e that con sensus could b e found at MC14 in Camero on next year.

Juma A l Kait s aid the Work ing Group is an imp ort ant opp or tun ity to build con sensus among the
glob al trad ing com munity and make the case for op en, rules-b ase d trad e: “ The Unite d Arab
Emir ates b elieves that trad e is the main driver of sus tain able e co nomic d evel op ment, p os it ively
imp act ing invest ment, indus tri al iz a t ion, job cre at ion and innov a t ion. It is incum b ent on us to

ensure the glob al trad ing sys tem is inclus ive and access ible - esp e cially as we con f ront a rap id ly
evolving trad ing land scap e. The G20’s trad e pri or it ies for 2025 are fully alig ne d w ith our ow n
for eig n trad e agend a, and the Min istr y of Eco nomy and the Min istr y of Invest ment w ill con -
t inue to act ively con trib ute to this year’s TI WG ses sions to ensure the b ene fits of trad e are

share d e qually and e quit ably.”
L ast O cto b er, Dr Thani Bin Ahme d A l Zey oudi, UAE Min is ter of State for For eig n Trad e, reas ser -
te d the UAE’S com mit ment to op en, rules-b ase d trad e dur ing the G20 Trad e and Invest ment
Min is terial Me et ing (TIM M) in Brazil, and again mad e the case that W TO reform can advance

the cause of mul t i lat er al ism and ensure e quit able access for all nat ions to glob al sup ply chains.
The UAE was p ar t i cip at ing as an invite d guest of Brazil dur ing its G20 Pres id ency, refle ct ing the
UAE’S g row ing influ ence on the glob al e co nomy, p ar t ic u larly on trad e issues.
D ur ing the me et ing, which w ill shap e the out comes of the G20 L ead ers’ Sum mit in Novem b er

2024, A l Zey oudi addresse d t wo key ses sions regard ing the glob al trad ing sys tem: the first on
W TO reform and the ne e d to streng then the mul t i lat eral trad ing sys tem; the se cond on trad e’s
role in sus tain able d evel op ment and invest ment. The UAE d el eg a t ion includ e d Juma A l Kait,
Assist ant Und er se c ret ar y for Inter na t ional Trad e Af fairs at the Min istr y of Eco nomy, who le d

the UAE’S p ar t i cip a t ion in the fourth and final G20 Trad e and Invest ment Work ing Group me et -
ing, and S aleh Ahmad A lsuwaidi, Amb as s ador of the Unite d Arab Emir ates to Brazil.

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