UAE and Brazil seek to boost trade and investment ties

The Emirati Minister of State for Foreign Trade met officials in the Latin American country as it launched its $347.5bn growth acceleration plan

Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi (third from left), the UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade, concluded a visit to Brazil during which he met the country's trade, agriculture and tourism ministers as the two Show more

Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, the UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade, met Brazilian ministers and senior officials in Brasilia as the Emirates continues to deepen its trade and economic ties with Latin America’s largest economy.

Dr Al Zeyoudi also attended the launch of Brazil’s $347.5 billion growth acceleration plan last Friday, the UAE's Ministry of Economy said on Tuesday. The plan is aimed to leverage public-private partnerships in support of energy, logistics and urban infrastructure projects.

“Brazil is one of the new centres of growth, one that represents the gravitational shifts in the economic landscape from the nations of the G7 towards new hubs of opportunity in the global south,” Dr Al Zeyoudi said.

“The UAE is keen to build mutually beneficial partnerships with such economies and deliver dynamic new markets for our private sector.”

Brazil is the UAE's top trading partner in Latin America and ranks second only to the US among the UAE's most important trading partners in the Americas.

The Emirates’ non-oil trade with Brazil reached $4.3 billion last year, an annual growth of 32 per cent, according to figures from the UAE's Ministry of Economy.

The two countries currently collaborate in vital sectors such as industry, transport, shipping, storage, infrastructure, construction, port management, energy, mining, banking and finance, and property.

The UAE’s investments in Brazil have risen to $5 billion, Abdulla bin Touq, Minister of Economy, said in April during a visit by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to the UAE.

The amount is predominantly focused on the sectors outlined in the growth acceleration plan, the ministry said.

The UAE, the Arab world’s second-largest economy, aims to boost trade and economic relations with countries around the globe, and is working towards signing 26 comprehensive economic partnership agreements as it seeks to attract more investment and diversify its economy.

The country has already signed Cepas with India, Israel, Indonesia and Turkey.

Last year, the UAE's non-oil foreign trade surged 17 per cent annually to reach a record Dh2.23 trillion ($607.2 billion).