Page 615 - MOE ENGLISH PR REPORT - FEBRUARY 2025 Part 1

2/26/25, 9:21 AM Al Zeyoudi engages with senior officials, ministers to accelerate trade ties in high-potential markets – UAE Business and Travel Insi…
In his meetings with Liza Araneta-Marcos, First Lady of the Philippines, and Sonexay Siphandone, Prime
Minister of Laos, Al Zeyoudi 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 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 Gabriela García, Minister of
Economy of Guatemala and 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.

He also held talks with Erkki Keldo, Minister of Economy and Industry of Estonia, and 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.
Dr. Thani was able to meet 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 Luis Carlos Reyes Hernández, Minister of
Commerce, Industry, and Tourism of Colombia, a CEPA partner since April 2024.

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 programme 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, 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-Pascal Tricoire of
Schneider Electric. Al Zeyoudi welcomed their contribution to the UAE’s dynamic business ecosystem and
invited them to deepen their regional footprint.

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