The UAE and Scotland strengthen bilateral ties with the signing of an MoU on trade and innovation

Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Tradewelcome Neil Gray, Cabinet Secretary for Scotland’s Wellbeing, Fair Work and Energy Economyto the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday to discuss ways to develop trade and investment opportunities between the two countries, the latest in a series of high-level exchanges between the UAE and Scotland and a reflection of the strength of the bilateral relationship.

The meeting concluded with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that seeks to pursue bilateral trade, private sector and academic partnerships in the fields of advanced technology, innovation, education and research.

In particular, the MoU is designed to foster collaboration in priority sectors such as clean energy and artificial intelligence, and is a direct result of the work of the UAE-Scotland joint working group that was established earlier this year to develop areas of shared interest.

Dr Thani He announced the MoU as another important step for bilateral relations.

“The UAE and Scotland are increasingly like-minded partners, two nations that are harnessing technology, innovation, investment and talent to transform our economies and achieve new chapters of success. As we pursue a knowledge economy, capable of harnessing the possibilities of the next 50 years, it is important to exchange ideas, knowledge and experiences with nations with a similar growth trajectory, and establish joint initiatives in the public, private and academic spheres that can advance our economic diversification ambitions. “This memorandum signals our intention to deepen our collaboration with Scotland and build a beneficial long-term partnership.”

he said.

Commenting on the agreement, Neil Gray aggregate,

“I welcome this progress in the development of Scotland’s relationship with the United Arab Emirates. Collaborating with the United Arab Emirates and other countries to deepen our economic relations, meet our shared green energy goals and promote a just transition has never been more important. I hope this agreement will help us achieve a more sustainable and prosperous economy.”

The United Arab Emirates and Scotland already enjoy productive economic relations. In 2022, the two nations shared non-oil trade that exceeded US$870 million in 2022, an increase of 70 percent from 2021, and Scotland exported goods worth US$625 million to the UAE, which representing 8.6 per cent of all UK exports to the UAE. . The two nations have also made a number of strategic investments in recent years, including Masdar’s development of Hywind Scotland, a 30-megawatt floating offshore pilot wind farm in the North Sea.

News source: Emirates News Agency