UAE to focus on stronger ties with South America

Dubai: UAE Economy Minister Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri has highlighted the UAE's focus on opening new doors of cooperation with South American countries in line with the open policy adopted by the country, at a meeting with Jean-Paul Tarud-Kuborn, Ambassador of Chile to the UAE.

The two sides discussed ways to enhance economic relations by organising meetings and exchange of visits of delegations to highlight the investment opportunities in both countries.

Al Mansouri said the Ministry of Economy has already set action plans to reach out to South American countries and explore new areas of economic cooperation.

"South American Countries, especially Brazil, Argentina and Chile, have promising investment opportunities and are currently witnessing remarkable economic growth.

"The UAE is keen to build strategic relations with these countries which will be beneficial for our national economy and for further strengthening the UAE's position on the world map," he added.

The UAE minister said that many Chilean companies are interested in investing in the UAE and in opening representative offices here, as they consider the UAE as a gateway to the larger Middle East and Central Asian markets.

"Many UAE companies have also showed strong interest in investing in various economic sectors in Chile," he added.

The Chilean envoy said his country plans to negotiate a free trade agreement with the GCC block and a series of economic and technical cooperation agreements with the UAE to enhance bilateral trade and exchange of investments.

"This will be beneficial to our countries as it will generate high rates of trade with the UAE, also standing to benefit from the 21 FTA agreements that Chile has signed with 57 countries," he added.

Chance to invest

He also highlighted the investment opportunities in Chile in food industries, agriculture, construction and copper mining, as Chile is the largest producer of copper in the world.

"Chile and the UAE have had trade relations since 1970, and they were enhanced in 2006 with the opening of the Trade Commission of Chile in the UAE and later the Embassy in 2009.

"This has contributed to increasing Chile's exports to the UAE by $100 million (Dh367 million) in one year, from $61 million to $162 million in 2007 and have continued to grow despite the global economic situation of the past two years.

"We are looking forward to building stronger relations with the UAE and to enhance investments in various sectors," he added.