Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and Mark Rutte, the Prime Minister of The Kingdom of the Netherlands, have reaffirmed their commitment to deepen cooperation in industries of the future. This collaboration was discussed during a CEO roundtable in Dubai themed “Energizing the Future.” The leaders expressed their desire to stimulate investment and joint ventures in key sectors such as renewable energy, space industry, artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, agri-tech, smart mobility solutions, and water management.
Mark Rutte led a Dutch delegation to the United Arab Emirates to enhance trade and investment ties between the two nations. They also explored the potential establishment of a sustainable economic corridor that can capitalize on the opportunities arising from Net Zero initiatives and the pursuit of decarbonized value chains, including the transportation of green hydrogen between the two countries.
In recent years, the UAE and the Netherlands have strengthened their bilateral relations, with the Netherlands ranking among the UAE’s top five trading partners in the EU. In the first half of 2023, bilateral non-oil trade between the two countries reached AED 11.2 billion, marking a 20.4 percent increase compared to the same period in 2022.
Minister Al Zeyoudi emphasized that the CEO roundtable underlined their commitment to collaboratively develop innovative solutions to address pressing global challenges. He stated, “The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a long-standing ally in our journey to develop an agile economy built on knowledge and innovation. Our private sectors have already established significant joint ventures in sectors like agri-tech and energy transition, and we believe that there are numerous high-value opportunities to explore on the path to Net Zero. We both share a vision of long-term, sustainable growth based on technology and talent, and we believe our meeting today will spark a new wave of cooperation on multiple fronts.”
Prime Minister Mark Rutte echoed the sentiment of shared goals, especially in the realm of sustainability. “The United Arab Emirates and the Netherlands have a lot in common. We are both trading nations with a significant global impact, so it’s only logical that our relationship has a strong focus on trade and investment. But we also both have major ambitions for green hydrogen, and that’s why we are strengthening ties to create a green hydrogen corridor of the future.”
The minister invited Dutch entities to leverage the incentives offered within the UAE’s dynamic business ecosystem, including full foreign ownership, flexible tax policies, and streamlined business setup and licensing procedures. He also highlighted the UAE’s global connectivity, supported by top-notch infrastructure and a new generation of trade agreements through the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement program. This program grants UAE-based exporters seamless access to the markets of India, Israel, Indonesia, Türkiye, and Cambodia, which collectively represent nearly a quarter of the world’s population.
