DUBAI:

The UAE and Latin America can together forge a new economic map, the UAE’s Minister of State for International Trade said.

“Our unique relationship, coupled with our strategic location on global trade routes and supply chains should prompt us to use all these advantages to our mutual benefit and make the UAE and Latin America resilient partners in developing a new economic map,” Reem Ebrahim Al Hashemi told delegates to the Global Business Forum — Latin America at Atlantis The Palm, Dubai on Tuesday,

“It avails new opportunities with economic and human prospects. This is the essence of our growth strategy with our partners and a guarantee for a better future.

“The opportunities within the UAE for such expansion and diversity are abundant — emerging technology companies, smart governments, technology-driven infrastructure, small and medium-sized enterprises, food, agriculture and tourism are all just the tip of the potential iceberg.”

Al Hashemi, who also serves as Director-General of Expo 2020 Dubai, encouraged Latin American firms to take part in that event.

“Never before has this World Exposition, which was founded in 1851, ever come to the Arab world, and ever come to Latin America.

“We collectively have a unique opportunity to tell the world who we are. What does Panama, for example, want the world to know about its rich history, its culture and its future opportunities?”

The Expo would help nations dispel past narratives and establish their own stories, she said.

“With an expected audience of 25 million visits to the Expo site, the impact can be nothing less than transformative,” she added.