On Monday 18th October 2021, the United Kingdom’s Department for
International Trade and the United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of
Economy held their seventh Joint Economic Committee (JEC) in
Dubai. The meeting took place in the ‘Inspiration Gallery’ of the
United Kingdom’s Pavilion at Dubai Expo 2020, which highlights
leading British expertise in sectors including artificial
intelligence and space.
The JEC was established in April 2009 and aims to strengthen and
develop bilateral cooperation between both countries, with a
focus on trade and investment ties, creating opportunities for
our business communities, and stimulating an exchange of
technical expertise. The United Arab Emirates is the United
Kingdom’s largest trading partner in the Gulf and our 25th
largest trading partner globally, with total trade in goods and
services of £10.7bn in the year ending March 2021.
The JEC was co-chaired by the United Kingdom’s Minister for
International Trade, , and the United Arab
Emirates’ Minister of State for Foreign Trade, His Excellency Dr
Thani Al Zeyoudi. There was a wide-ranging discussion on
bilateral trade and investment, opportunities to increase market
access, and options to boost collaboration in priority sectors
such as healthcare, life sciences, and education. The Ministers
celebrated successes since the last JEC, including the support
offered to British food and drink exporters to continue exporting
during Covid-19 and the recent accreditation of British education
providers in the UAE. They received presentations from UK Export
Finance and the Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department for
International Trade on trade and investment opportunities in
green sectors and artificial intelligence.
The JEC heard from the co-chairman of the United Arab
Emirates-United Kingdom Business Council about its ongoing work of
and its strategic vision for the future.
Discussion at the JEC covered the successful completion of the
Joint Trade and Investment Review, which was recently undertaken
between the United Kingdom and the Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC). This joint piece of work provided a strong overview of the
trade and investment relationship between the GCC and United
Kingdom, identified barriers to trade and investment, and drew
clear recommendations for future cooperation that both parties
could take forward. Both sides agreed on the importance of
continued work in sectors such as education, food and drink,
financial and professional services. More details on this work
can be found here.
The JEC covered the plans for the United Kingdom-GCC Free Trade
Agreement, with the United Kingdom launching her 14-week
consultation on 7th October 2021. More information on the
consultation can be found here.
During the JEC, the two sides celebrated the successful visit by
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of
Abu Dhabi, and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces
to the United Kingdom in September 2021. Both delegations
recognised the importance of the United Arab Emirates-United
Kingdom Sovereign Investment Partnership (SIP) between the United
Kingdom’s Office for Investment and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala
Investment Company. This partnership will drive a significant
increase in investment across sectors such as technology,
infrastructure, and energy transition over the next five years,
as well as build on the existing programme of life sciences
investment. Both sides also welcomed the signing of a Memorandum
of Understanding on artificial intelligence to facilitate the
transfer of knowledge, investment, and standards to bring mutual
benefit to both countries.
The meeting saw the British and Emirati governments agree to
tackle numerous market access barriers and boost cooperation
across a number of sectors. The next meeting of the JEC will be
held in late 2022.
