UAE, Australia accelerating economic cooperation

Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, has met a number of Australian government officials and representatives of the Australian business community on the sidelines of the now-running Business Forum, organised by Invest Victoria, the State Government of Victoria’s Foreign Direct Agency.

The possibility of signing a series of MoUs to accelerate cooperation in areas of innovation, SMEs, food security, and coordination between the Emirates Authority For Standardization and Metrology and the State Government of Victoria was mooted during the meetings. The discussions laid special emphasis on fostering channels of cooperation in areas of food security through forging more partnerships between the UAE private sector and Australian departments concerned to conduct necessary food safety inspections according to latest industry techniques.

The forum addressed international businesses in Melbourne and Victoria, assisting them to set up and expand their operations with different world partners.

During the forum, the Ministry of Economy delegation spoke of the investment-conducive environment boasted by the UAE and the incentives provided by the government to boost economic cooperation between the UAE private economy and the Australian business community across multiple domains of common interest, with special emphasis on SMEs, innovation and food supplies.

Al Mansouri affirmed the solid economic ties between the two countries, which he said, are based on mutual respect, constructive partnerships and willingness to further advance bilateral ties to a higher level.

He spoke with Australian businessmen about the sustained efforts made by the UAE government to build a knowledge-based and innovation-oriented economy as part of the UAE Vision 2021, noting the UAE government's willingness to expedite the exchange of knowledge and expertise with Australia in areas of R&D, investment, agriculture, food security, education, health and finance - areas which, he said, Australia has been a long way in.

Attending the meetings from the Australian side were Frank McGuire, Member of Victoria Parliament and Parliamentary Secretary for SMEs, Innovation and Medical Research, who lauded the UAE economic diversification model, affirming the Victoria Government's keenness to accelerate cooperation with the UAE at multiple business levels.

Dr. Obaid Salem Al Ketbi, UAE Ambassador to Australia, Saeed Mattar Al Siri, the UAE Consul General in Melbourne, and a number of Ministry of Economy executives and businessmen attended the meetings.