Page 249 - MOE ENGLISH PR REPORT - APRIL 2025 (Part 1)

4/28/25, 3:09 PM HE Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi Meets PM Of Germany's North-Rhine Westphalia Region To Discuss Collaboration In High-Growth Sectors
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.

HE 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 investment, while our free-trade network can ensure the
region's industrial output can seamlessly reach key markets in Asia and Africa. The UAE also
remains an open, welcomingbusiness environment for any enterprises from North Rhine-
Westphalia seeking to expand into the Middle East and help develop our industrial and
innovation ecosystem's meeting with HE Wüst and the subsequent business roundtable will
help create the networks that can facilitate this activity, and we remain on hand to support
bilateral trade and investment flows in the months and years ahead.”

The United Arab Emirates and Germany, the third-largest economy in the world, shared non-
oil trade worth US$13.8 billion in 2024, a 5.4% increase on 2023. The UAE also has
investments in excess of US$1.2 billion committed to projects across Germany. The UAE
recently announced its intentions to open negotiations towards a Comprehensive Economic
Partnership Agreement with the European Union, of which Germany is the single largest
economy.

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