KHALEEJ TIMES, Wednesday, Sep 15, 2021 | Safar 8, 1443
UAE wants quick trade talks with 8 key nations
Emirates:
The UAE will pursue an aggressive timetable to negotiate broad economic
agreements with eight countries it wants to deepen trade ties with, hoping it
can wrap up some of those talks within a year, its trade minister said on
Tuesday.
The Gulf state, already a hub for global trade, this month announced plans to
strengthen trade and economic ties with India, the United Kingdom, Turkey and
South Korea, among others.
“We really do hope that ... at least the first ones are going to be concluded
within six months to one year. So we are talking about a very aggressive, quick
work and quick negotiations,” Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani Al
Zeyoudi said.
He did not identify any country.
The UAE would bilaterally pursue what Al Zeyoudi called comprehensive economic
accords with the eight countries on trade, foreign direct investment and sectors
like tourism.
The other countries the UAE has said it wants to deepen trade ties with are
Ethiopia, Indonesia, Israel and Kenya.
The UAE’s push to bolster its status as the Middle East commercial hub comes
after it was hit hard by the pandemic with its economy contracting last year,
and as it faces increasing economic competition from Saudi Arabia.
Al Zeyoudi said the UAE was focused on strengthening its own economy and,
without naming Saudi Arabia, was not paying attention to what others were doing
in region, though added that economic competition between states was natural and
healthy.
The renewed focus on the economy also follows a reset of its assertive foreign
policy that has seen it take steps to mend strained ties with regional power
Turkey and neighbour Qatar.
The UAE wants economic and trade relations with those countries, as well as
regional power Iran, Al Zeyoudi said.
Al Zeyoudi, who is in the United States, also said he had discussed US tariffs
on UAE aluminium and steel imports with US counterparts and that he hoped the
matter would be “sorted.”