Abu Dhabi: Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, highlighted the deep-rooted relations between the UAE and Canada, and noted that they have witnessed significant overall growth, aided by the support of their leadership.
He made this statement during his meeting with Omar Alghabra, Canadian Minister of Transport, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Economy in Dubai.
During the meeting, Al Marri stressed that Canada is one of the UAE’s strategic trade partners in North America, noting the country’s keenness to boost their bilateral ties to new and elevated levels.
The statistics on the trade exchange and mutual investment between the two countries highlight their advancing bilateral ties, he added. The non-oil trade between the UAE and Canada totalled more than Dh10.6 billion in the first nine months of 2022, an increase of 14.6 pe rcent compared to the same period in 2021.
Cooperation
He also affirmed his keenness to enhance the UAE’s cooperation with the Canadian government in strategic areas of mutual concern, including transport, logistics, space, technology, food security and renewable energy.
During the meeting, Al Marri briefed Alghabra about the UAE’s achievements over the past five decades, including establishing an economic environment that supports business growth and attracts investments, in line with the forward-looking vision of the UAE’s leadership to establish an innovative economic model based on knowledge. He also mentioned amendments to over 40 laws, such as one that allows foreigners to have full ownership of Emirati businesses.
Leading trading partner
The number of passengers travelling from the UAE to Canada was more than 45,000 in 2019 while the air traffic between the two countries witnesses some 286,000 passengers per year.
The number of Canadian visitors staying in hotels in the UAE reached 170,000 residents and non-residents in 2021, according to figures from the World Tourism Organisation.
The UAE is the second leading trading partner of Canada in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the region in 2021, with their non-oil trade amounting to nearly Dh12.7 billion in 2021, a rise of 59.3 percent compared to 2020 while Emirati non-oil exports to Canada amounted to more than Dh1.2 billion during the first nine months of 2022, an increase of 9 percent compared to the same period in 2021.
Emirati re-exports to Canada totalled more than Dh880 million, a rise of 45 per cent in the first nine months of this year compared to the same period in 2021 while Emirati imports from Canada amounted to more than Dh8.4 billion during the first nine months of 2022, an increase of 13 per cent compared to the same period last year.
Canadian direct investments in the UAE until the start of 2021 amounted to Dh3.6 billion, a 100 per cent increase over the past eight years while Emirati investments in Canada totalled some Dh23.3 billion until the start of 2021.
