UAE-US Trade and Investment Relations Set to Register Strong Growth: Al Mansouri

Abu Dhabi-UAE: 24 September, 2014 – Bilateral trade and investment relations between the UAE and the US have registered an upward trend and are poised for further exponential growth with the two countries keen to strengthen ties as lucrative and untapped opportunities continue to open, the UAE Minister of Economy, His Excellency Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri has said. 

The Minister is leading a large high-profile UAE business delegation to the US for collaborative discussions with senior officials.

The UAE includes senior officials from the Ministry of Economy, Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), Dubai Internet City, Dubai Outsource Zone (DOZ), Dubai Exports (an agency of Dubai's Department of Economic Development), Sharjah Tatweer Forum, Mubadala Aerospace, Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Abu Dhabi Technology Development Committee (TDC), the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Fund, as well as a number of the executives of private-sector companies.

His Excellency Sultan Bin Mansouri said in a statement: "We see diverse opportunities and avenues for bolstering cooperation between the two countries. The US and the UAE have a strong existing economic and commercial partnership. Bilateral non-oil trade between our countries reached US$26.9 billion in 2013, and the UAE continues to retain its lead among MENA-region countries as the largest export market for US goods and services. 

“The fifth US – UAE Economic Policy Dialogue held in Abu Dhabi in April 2014 paved the way for stronger commercial linkages to meet the potential of the future. Our current visit to the US will include collaborative talks to cement partnerships in key business areas such as energy, aviation, information technology and healthcare.” 

The delegation’s visit to the US is expected to drive brisk investments on projects of mutual interest and enhance trade cooperation between the two countries at both the government and private level. As part of its US tour, the UAE delegation will visit Washington D.C., Seattle, Palo Alto, Silicon Valley and Los Angeles.
His Excellency Al Mansouri noted that the Ministry of Economy, in line with the vision of the UAE leadership, is keen to help shape a knowledge-based economy that adds significant value - to the tune of at least five percent - to the UAE’s GDP by 2021.

Al Mansouri said: "Given this priority, we are focused on nurturing ideas that will develop different economic sectors while improving our competitiveness at an international level. The United States accounts for the world's biggest global corporations and the strongest innovation and technology organizations. During our tour to the country, we will aim to forge strong partnerships that boost the UAE’s knowledge credentials.

“Our delegates will aim to learn from the different experiences across sectors and eventually look to establishing the UAE’s presence in the identified key growth areas." 

According to the Ministry of Economy, the UAE's foreign trade grew at an average rate of 12.6% during the last three years to reach more than US$290 billion at the end of 2013. 

Trade between the two countries helped create more than 200,000 jobs in the US in 200,000 as the UAE is the largest recipient of the US exports to the Middle East. In the meanwhile, the UAE's direct investments to financial markets in the US and the American economy grew to more than US$21 billion.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Economy, the UAE hosts more than 1,000 US companies, many of which have regional offices in the country. The UAE is also home to more than 60,000 US citizens.