UAE delegation visits Ireland to explore potential collaboration in transport, trade and SMEs

>> Thani Al-Zeyoudi: The UAE and Ireland share a belief in the importance of developing a startup culture as a way to accelerate growth, create new capabilities and create new industries

• The two countries sign a memorandum of understanding on political consultations with the aim of enhancing cooperation in areas of common interest
• Discussing opportunities for cooperation and exchanging experiences during bilateral meetings with the Irish Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Minister of Transport and Executive Director of the government agency "Enterprise Ireland".
• 758 million dollars, the value of trade exchange between the UAE and Ireland during the first nine months of 2022, with a growth rate of 16 per cent

 His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, led a delegation from the United Arab Emirates to the Republic of Ireland to explore potential opportunities in the transport and logistics sectors, as well as ways to enhance cooperation to support startups and SMEs.

As part of the visit, HE Al Zeyoudi held a number of important meetings, including a discussion with Leo Varadkar, Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland and Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The two ministers discussed ways to accelerate trade growth between the UAE and Ireland and mechanisms to enhance bilateral economic relations between the two countries. HE Dr Thani also met Hildegarde Naughton, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, they discussed opportunities for joint cooperation to serve international trade and contribute to supporting the global and bilateral economy in particular and agreed to strengthen bilateral work during the next stage to ensure the sustainability of supply chains between the two countries. 

The visit witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries aimed at organising political talks to strengthen their stances on issues of mutual concern. 

Further meetings were held with Kevin Sherry, Executive Director of Enterprise Ireland, to discuss several plans aimed at creating a culture of innovation and enhancing their cooperation in supporting SMEs.

HE Al Zeyoudi said that the visit underlines the potential for deeper, more integrated relations between the two nations. “The UAE and Ireland both share a belief in the importance of developing a start-up culture as a means of accelerating growth, creating new capabilities and establishing new industries, and it’s clear we are both embracing innovation across core sectors. We see considerable potential to share experiences and create a platform for SMEs to collaborate and expand into new markets.

His Excellency continued: “Logistics transport, food security, renewable energy, financial technology and trade are among the most prominent sectors of joint trade cooperation between the two friendly countries. The visit represents an important step for the Emirati and Irish sides to exchange more experiences and knowledge in these vital sectors, which contributes to creating new opportunities for the development of bilateral cooperation.” business partnerships in the coming period.

Last February, the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) signed a memorandum of understanding with the government agency, Enterprise Ireland, to bring its ideas and best practices to the transport sector in the country.

The UAE has been a core growth market for Irish business in 2022, with non-oil trade during the first nine months of 2022 reaching US$ 758 million, an increase of 16 percent compared to 2021 for the same period, and grew by 32.4 percent and 48.3 percent over the same period in 2020 and 2019, respectively. Enterprise Ireland also released data in September 2022 that revealed it supports over 400 Irish companies exporting or looking to export in the Middle East region.

The Emirati delegation included Mohammed Al Shamsi, UAE Ambassador to Ireland, Rashid Abdul Karim Al Balushi, Under-Secretary of the Department of Economic Development in Abu Dhabi, and Sharif Habib Al Awadi, Director-General of the Fujairah Free Zone Authority, and Mohamed Ghareeb Al Hosani, CEO, the experience and satisfaction of Kizad Group’s customers and Hussein Al- Meer, General Manager of the Masdar Company in the UK, and Engineer Sultan Hassan Al-Ghafili, Director of Technical Projects at the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation for Humanitarian Works and Ali Saleh, Senior Technical Specialist at the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).