Page 232 - MOE ENGLISH PR REPORT - APRIL 2025 (Part 1)

UAE, Germany seeking stronger trade ties

• Friday, April 25, 2025 9:10 PM

• 2 minutes Reading

ABU DHABI, 25th April, 2025 (WAM) -- Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, has
held talks with Hendrik Josef Wüst, the Minister-President of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in
Germany, in which they agreed to pursue stronger trade ties and collaborate in key sectors such as
technology, advanced manufacturing and the green economy.

The meeting was followed by a business roundtable that paired senior figures from the region’s
private sector with their UAE counterparts to explore areas of mutual benefit and discuss
partnership opportunities.

North Rhine-Westphalia is the economic powerhouse of Germany. Home to 37 of the country’s top
100 corporations, the region’s GDP reached US$990 billion in 2024, which equates to 20% of
Germany’s total economic output. Although it has historically been Germany’s industrial heartland,
its economic vision is focusing on digital technologies, artificial intelligence, smart manufacturing
and the green economy, with research projects into water management and agri-tech solutions.

As such, it has many synergies with the United Arab Emirates, which is reflected in the growing ties
between the two, including Emirati investments into North Rhine-Westphalia’s ammonia value
chain and the developmentof hydrogen as a form of renewable energy.
Dr Thani said the meeting with HE Wüst highlighted these complementarities and offered a
roadmap for greater collaboration in key sectors going forward:“The United Arab Emirates has long
enjoyed a positive and productive relationship with Germany, and North Rhine-Westphalia, with its
industrial heritage and forward-looking vision, has been central to it. From the digital economy to
energy transition and the green economy, we see a multitude of avenues for cooperation and

https://www.wam.ae/en/article/b6u4xxp-uae-croatia-explore-opportunities-bolster