The UAE has invited leading French businessmen and startup owners to take advantage of the promising opportunities offered by the UAE economy to expand their operations to Mena and GCC markets.

 

Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, met with the executives, investors and CEOs of major French companies ahead of his visit to France to explore means to enhance economic cooperation between Abu Dhabi and Paris at the private sector level. 

 

The meeting was aimed at capitalising on more available opportunities that support the sustainable growth of their economies, especially in the new economy sectors. Frederic Sanchez, President of the Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF), also attended the meeting.

 

Main driver

Al Marri said: “Economic and trade cooperation is the main driver for strengthening the partnership between the two countries and ensuring the prosperity and well-being of our people. Over the past years, we have worked alongside our partners in the French government to provide the private sector with all the tools and capabilities necessary for the prosperity and expansion of their operations. This has reflected positively on the number of companies operating in the markets of the two countries.”

 

The Minister of Economy added: “The economic policies approved by the UAE over the last three years, in implementation of our wise leadership’s vision, have established a solid, fertile environment for the growth of major French companies, enabling their access to new markets. The UAE offers them various incentives and advantages, including advanced infrastructure and flexible legislation that ensure fair competition, in addition to a digital services system through which businesses can be easily set up.”

 

“These factors have made the UAE home to more than 600 French companies that employ more than 30,000 people. They operate in various sectors including renewable energy, transportation, logistics, hotels, aviation, space, banking, and insurance, among others. The UAE is the second largest GCC investor in France and has more than 50 of its companies operating in France, in various sectors. We will continue to work with our French partners to increase the number of companies operating in the markets of the two countries, contributing to the creation of thousands of job opportunities,” he added. 

 

Bilateral relations

He highlighted that the bilateral relations between the UAE and France have developed significantly in various fields of cooperation under the leaderships of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE; and Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic.

 

The meetings saw Al Marri elaborate on the pillars of the ‘We the UAE 2031’ vision, which aims to make the UAE a global hub for the new economy, and the steps taken by the UAE government to achieve this goal. For instance, the country is continuously developing its economic legislation and launching innovative initiatives and programs that support the economic climate and attract FDI, especially in the new economy sectors. In addition, he highlighted the issuance of legislation to protect intellectual property and the launch of an ambitious strategy to attract talent and minds to enhance the UAE’s position as a permanent hub for creativity and innovation.

 

MEDEF is a leading network that includes 173,000 companies and has great economic significance both inside and outside of France. It supports entrepreneurs and SMEs, which represent about 95% of the total companies joining its network and provides innovative solutions, initiatives and programmes to enable them to achieve sustainable growth.

 

The Minister of Economy is leading a UAE delegation to France to discuss the strengthening of the economic cooperation in a wide range of vital sectors, most notably renewable energy, tourism, aviation, entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, space, intellectual property, and the circular economy.

--TradeArabia News Service