According to data from the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, the trade exchange between the UAE and France grew by 16.8% in 2022, reaching Dh29.44 billion, compared to Dh25.2 billion in 2021. The bilateral trade between the two countries consisted of imports valued at Dh25.2 billion, while exports and re-exports were valued at approximately Dh4.2 billion. The report on the trade between the UAE and France showed that their international trade rose by 49% over the past three years, rising from Dh19.7 billion in 2020 to Dh29.4 billion at the end of last year.
The five leading commodities imported from France in 2022 were jewellery and precious metal products, jet engines, perfumes, medicines, and bags. Meanwhile, aircraft parts topped the list of re-exports, followed by jewellery and precious metal products, jet engines, cars, and perfumes. Packaging bottles were the UAE’s leading export commodity valued at Dh88 million.
The UAE and France are cooperating in sustainable agriculture, food production, and food and water security to achieve mutual benefits from solutions that mitigate environmental impacts, adapt to climate change, and preserve biodiversity. Their cooperation also aims to reduce carbon emissions in heavy industries, promote adaptation and resilience, develop nature-based solutions and green financing, and empower civil society in climate action and scientific and research collaborations.
The partnership between the UAE and France in the clean and renewable energy sector has led to the development, financing, and operation of over 6.2 gigawatts of clean and renewable energy projects around the world through leading companies in the sector from both countries. Among these projects are two of the largest solar energy projects in one place located in the UAE, in addition to investments worth $6 billion, which helped offset carbon emissions estimated at some 10 million tonnes annually.
French investors have strengthened their investments in the UAE financial markets over the past years. The value of French trades, both buying and selling, in local markets in 2022 totalled Dh726.2 million spread across 130.5 million shares traded through 5,703 deals in 2022. French trading, both buying and selling, in the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) reached a value of Dh386.4 million, executed through 3,848 transactions involving more than 58.3 million shares over the past year. French purchases in the Dubai market were over 41.5 million shares worth some Dh68.2 million in 2019, and around 12.7 million shares worth Dh29.7 million in 2020.
In summary, the trade exchange between the UAE and France grew by 16.8% in 2022, reaching Dh29.44 billion, with imports valued at Dh25.2 billion and exports and re-exports valued at approximately Dh4.2 billion. The two countries are cooperating in sustainable agriculture, food production, and food and water security, as well as clean and renewable energy projects, and carbon emission reduction in heavy industries. French investors have also strengthened their investments in the UAE financial markets over the past years.
