Page 609 - MOE ENGLISH PR REPORT - FEBRUARY 2025 Part 1

2/26/25, 9:20 AM HE Al Zeyoudi engages with senior officials and ministers at World Governments Summit
key drivers of long-term, sustainable growth. The discussions centered on ways to deepen collaboration,
accelerate the flow of goods and services, and direct investments into priority sectors such as energy,
logistics, food security and advanced technology.

In his meetings with HE Liza Araneta-Marcos, First Lady of the Philippines, and HE Sonexay

Siphandone, Prime Minister of Laos, His Excellency Al Zeyoudi HE restated the increasing importance
of the ASEAN region to the UAE, and the willingness to cement ties to a region with well-developed
manufacturing and food-production sectors. With HE Manoa Seru Nakausabaria Kamikamica, Deputy
Prime Minister of Fiji, the talks revolved around logistics, the fishing industry and the importance of

moving forward with climate-mitigation policies.

Improving connections to Latin America was the subject of the conversations with HE Gabriela García,
Minister of Economy of Guatemala and HE Félix Ulloa, Vice President of El Salvador, while trade and
investment with the key industrial state of Michigan, USA was the focus of the discussions with Governor
Gretchen Whitmer. His Excellency also held talks with Erkki Keldo, Minister of Economy and Industry of

Estonia, and HE Ismaël M’Fala Nabé, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation of Guinea.

The World Government Summit also provided the opportunity to review several of the UAE’s
Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements. His Excellency Dr Thani was able to meet HE Bùi
Thanh Sơn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, with which the UAE

signed a CEPA with in October 2024, and HE Luis Carlos Reyes Hernández, Minister of Commerce,
Industry, and Tourism of Colombia, a CEPA partner since April 2024.

His Excellency Al Zeyoudi said the meetings serve to strengthen the UAE’s position as an important
partner for economic development across the world. “The UAE has a long-standing belief that foreign
trade and investment are the key to sustainable economic development, industrial productivity and

innovation. My meetings with ministers this week have highlighted that nations across the world are not
only keen to expand their trade networks but make trade simpler, faster and more efficient. Our CEPA
program is establishing corridors of growth between Asia, Africa and the Americas, and many countries

are expressing their interest in deepening their collaboration with us. I look forward to continuing these
conversations to ensure a prosperous and equitable future for all.”

The transformative power of artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotechnology, and
sustainability-driven technologies was also a major theme at this year’s World Governments Summit.
With Roberto Viola, Director-General of the European Commission’s CONNECT project, HE Al Zeyoudi

outlined the UAE’s efforts to harness advanced technology to improve industrial efficiency and
innovation – and to establish the appropriate regulatory frameworks to facilitate it.

He also underlined the UAE’s role as a champion of innovation with key industry pioneers such as
Shilpan Amin of GM International, Akash Palkhiwala of Qualcomm, Arvind Krishna of IBM, and Jean-

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