The UAE to open new era of economic cooperation with South America
Dubai, UAE - Jul 6, 2010 (PRN):
UAE Economy Minister Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori has highlighted the UAE's focus on opening new doors of cooperation with South American countries in line with the open policy adopted by the country, at a meeting with Jean-Paul Tarud-Kuborn, Ambassador of Chile to the UAE.
The two sides discussed ways to enhance economic relations by organising meetings and exchange of visits of delegations to highlight the investment opportunities in both countries.
Al Mansoori said the Ministry of Economy has already set action plans to reach out to South American countries and explore new areas of economic cooperation. "South American Countries, especially Brazil, Argentina and Chile, have promising investment opportunities and are currently witnessing remarkable economic growth. The UAE is keen to build strategic relations with these countries which will be beneficial for our national economy and for further strengthening the UAE's position on the world map," he added.
The UAE minister said that many Chilean companies are interested in investing in the UAE and in opening representative offices here, as they consider the UAE as a gateway to the larger Middle East and Central Asian markets. "Many UAE companies have also showed strong interest to invest in various economic sectors in Chile," he added.
The Chilean envoy said his country plans to negotiate a free trade agreement with the GCC block and a series of economic and technical cooperation agreements with the UAE to enhance bilateral trade and exchange of investments. "This will be beneficial to our countries as it will generate high rates of trade exchange with the UAE, also standing to benefit from the 21 FTA agreements that Chile has signed with 57 countries," he added.
He also highlighted the investment opportunities in Chile in food industries, agriculture, construction and copper mining, as Chile is the largest producer of copper in the world.
"Chile and the UAE have bilateral trade relations since 1970, which was further enhanced in 2006 with the opening of the Trade Commission of Chile in the UAE and later the Embassy in 2009. This has contributed to increasing Chile's export to the UAE by US$100 million in one year, from US$61 million to US$162 million in 2007 and has continued to grow thereon despite the global economic situation of the past 2 years. We are looking forward to building stronger relations with the UAE and to enhance investments at various sectors," he added.
