Khaleej Times, Thursday, Sep 16, 2021 | Safar 9, 1443

UK, UAE to launch ambitious ‘Partnership for the Future’

The UAE and the UK are expected to agree on an ambitious ‘Partnership for the Future’ today, building on the historic relationship between the two countries and setting a broad foundation for future cooperation, Downing Street said on Wednesday night.

The partnership will be underpinned by the annual UK-UAE Strategic Dialogues, beginning later this year and chaired by the UK’s Foreign Secretary and his Emirati counterpart.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will host His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, for a bilateral meeting at Downing Street, a military Guard of Honour and a UK-UAE business reception today.

The UAE is already a key partner for the UK, with total trade between the two countries reaching £12billion in 2020.

As part of the visit, the UK Office for Investment and the UAE’s Mubadala Investment Company are expected to sign a major expansion of the Sovereign Investment Partnership (SIP) agreed earlier this year. The deal will secure investments across the UK in life sciences, technology, energy transition and infrastructure.

Johnson and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed will witness the signing of the expanded memorandum of understanding for the SIP at Downing Street.

The investments are expected to create high-value jobs in both the UK and the UAE and support ambitious net-zero targets by turbocharging the clean energy transition, officials said.

Additional investments expected to be announced include a £500-million investment in digital infrastructure builder CityFibre, for the rollout of a high-speed broadband. The investment is part of a larger CityFibre capital raise which will support its £4 billion rollout of full fibre to 8 million homes in urban and rural areas, creating an estimated 10,000 jobs and catalysing economic growth across the country.

UK Export Finance (UKEF) is also announcing a new £31 million clean growth loan to complete the construction of the UAE environmental management company Bee’ah’s headquarters in Sharjah.

The two governments will develop a joint action plan to mitigate and address money laundering, financing of terrorism and other issues related to illicit finance, officials added.