Warsaw: Poland's President Lech Kaczyski honoured Sultan Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy, with the Commander's Cross with the Star of Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.
This honour is being conferred for the first time at a ministerial level. Waldemar Pawlak, Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, presented the honour to Al Mansouri, who headed a UAE delegation to Poland.
The delegation held discussions with Polish officials, suggesting proposals to form a joint economic committee to be finalised in the first half of 2010. The committee is aimed at strengthening trade and business relations between the UAE and Poland.
Al Mansouri said that Poland is a strategic gateway to the entire European Union, adding that the visit of the delegation comes in line with an integrated plan by the UAE to strengthen global partnerships in trade and economy.
Cooperation
Discussions focused on cooperation in the fields of petrochemicals, food industries, renewable energy, tourism and agriculture. The UAE minister suggested to the Polish officials possibility of manufacturing Polish products in the UAE to be distributed to the whole region, a move welcomed by Warsaw.
Al Mansouri said the UAE and Poland will strengthen trade relations by leveraging the investment environments in both countries. On the four-day official visit, he met with senior officials and more than 55 leading Polish entrepreneurs, who expressed their interest in investing in the UAE.
The UAE official was accompanied by senior officials and top managers of UAE companies, who presented their profiles to the Polish officials and entrepreneurs.
The volume of trade between the two countries reached $642 million (Dh2.361 billion) in 2008 and Polish investments in the UAE reached $80 million through 18 companies operating here. The UAE is Poland's leading trading partner in the Gulf and imports from Poland are valued at $617 million.
