UAE Participates in SelectUSA Investment Summit to Strengthen Investment Ties

Washington DC, The Gulf Observer: Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, visited Washington D.C. for discussions with Gina Raimondo, US Secretary of Commerce, focused on bolstering bilateral trade and investment ties.

Accompanied by Yousef Al Otaiba, UAE Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Al Zeyoudi led the UAE delegation of government officials and business leaders to the 10th SelectUSA Investment Summit. This event, which promotes and facilitates business investment in the US, served as a platform to explore expanded opportunities for the UAE private sector.

In his meeting with Secretary Raimondo, Dr. Al Zeyoudi underscored the importance of economic relations with the US, which stands as the UAE’s third-largest global trade partner, accounting for 27% of America’s non-oil trade with the Arab World. In 2023, bilateral trade between the two nations reached US$40 billion, marking a 20.1% increase from the previous year and a 50.2% growth compared to 2019. The discussion also covered mutual interests, including collaboration on renewable energy development.

At the SelectUSA Investment Summit, hosted by the US Department of Commerce and attended by public officials and corporate leaders, Dr. Al Zeyoudi met with Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey. They discussed opportunities for UAE-based businesses, investors, and family offices to enter or expand their presence in the US market, particularly in areas like clean energy, logistics, infrastructure development, and advanced technology.

The Summit’s workshops and seminars provided the UAE delegation with insights into various investment opportunities across the USA, helping them identify potential areas for collaboration and access means.

Addressing attendees from the US business community at a session organized by the UAE-US Business Council, Dr. Al Zeyoudi stated, “The United States of America remains one of our most trusted international allies and a vital trade and investment partner. Our relationship is not only strong and enduring, it continues to find productive new horizons, from collaboration in renewable energy to agri-tech and advanced technology. Our visit to the States this week is a reflection of our commitment to finding new avenues of cooperation and to building partnerships at the public- and private-sector levels that further our economic diversification ambitions. SelectUSA is not only the ideal platform to discover the opportunities in the US market but to also showcase the dynamism of the UAE’s ecosystem, which is already home to more than 1,500 US companies.”

The UAE is the largest Arab investor in the USA, with assets exceeding US$38.1 billion, representing over 50% of Arab investment in the country as of 2022. Over the past five years, UAE investments in the US have grown by US$12 billion across various sectors, focusing on transportation, business services, and ICT. Majority UAE-owned firms employ over 24,300 US workers and contribute US$1.4 billion to the value of US goods exported in 2021.

The UAE delegation included more than 65 participants, notably Mohammed Abdul Rahman Al Hawi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Investment, Juma Mohammed Al Kait, Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy for Foreign Trade Affairs, and Saud H. Al Nowais, UAE Commercial Attaché (Counselor) for the UAE Embassy. Senior executives from prominent government and private sector entities such as the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, Mubadala, EDGE Group, Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ), LuLu Group International, and Emirates Aluminum also participated.