UAE, Austria hold joint economic committee meeting to strengthen cooperation

The UAE-Austria Joint Economic Committee was presided over by Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri and Minister of Economy and Labour Martin Kocher of Austria. Several officials and businesspeople from both nations were present.

The minutes of the meeting were signed by Florian Frauscher, the director general of economic affairs, innovation, and international policy at the Austrian Ministry of Economy and Labour, and Abdullah Al Saleh, the undersecretary of the ministry of economy.

The Joint Economic Committee met in Dubai in order to improve collaboration and establish partnerships between the two nations in the near future in the areas of commerce, investment, tourism, artificial intelligence, technology, green energy, logistics, infrastructure, and vocational training.

According to Bin Touq, the UAE and Austria have strategic bilateral relations that are constantly developing on a number of fronts. This is attributable to both leaderships’ progressive visions, which emphasise the continuous development of the bilateral cooperation through the use of new opportunities.

“The UAE-Austria Joint Economic Committee is a new milestone in strengthening our bilateral economic ties and fostering collaboration across mutually beneficial sectors. It also aims to explore promising opportunities in both countries’ markets. The convening of this session aligns with the UAE’s strategic plans to boost economic openness and enhance its economic standing in international markets following the ‘We the UAE 2031’ vision to make the country a global partner and an attractive, influential economic hub,” the minister said.

Aiming to strengthen and support the private sector, improve the competitiveness of the business environment, and increase its growth prospects, the UAE side of the committee discussed important economic developments and policies in the nation, such as updates to the Commercial Companies Law and updates to residency systems.

In this sense, Bin Touq extended an invitation to the Austrian private sector to investigate the markets of the United Arab Emirates and profit from the advantages and incentives offered by its business climate.

To encourage Emirati businesses to take advantage of the investment opportunities it presents and gain knowledge of the key industries in the Austrian markets, the Austrian delegation extended an invitation to the UAE side to attend the “Invest in Austria” conference, which is set to take place in February 2024.

The committee discussed fresh approaches to maintain cooperative initiatives and promote economic collaboration between the public and private sectors. It emphasised how important the private sector is to boosting economic ties between the two countries by providing exporters and importers with all-encompassing support to enable the growth and diversification of trade in both commodities and services.

It also covered the topic of creating new avenues for cooperation between the business groups in Austria and Emirati to strengthen the two nations’ trade and economic relations.

With 43% of Austria’s trade with GCC countries and 16% with Arab countries, the UAE is the country’s leading trading partner in the GCC and the second largest in the Arab world. Furthermore, among the EU’s trading partners of the UAE, Austria comes in at number ten.

High-ranking representatives from the UAE side at the JEC were Juma Mohammed Al Kait, the Ministry of Economy’s Assistant Undersecretary for Foreign Trade Sector.

The participants in the session included Eva Lantschinger, the Secretary General of the Austrian Ministry of Economy and Labour; Paul Rock, the Head of the Austrian Minister of Economy and Labor’s Office; and Daniel Krobber, the Minister of Economy and Labor’s Senior Advisor for European Union and International Affairs.

(With agency inputs)