Al Mansouri, head of Flemish Government discuss UAE-Belgian joint co-operation

BRUSSELS, 14th November, 2015 (WAM) – The UAE, led by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has ambitious plans to become one of the best nations in the area of innovation, knowledge and government services, visiting UAE Minister of Economy Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri said during a meeting with Geert Bourgeois, Minister-President of Flanders (head of the Flemish Government) in Brussels. Al Mansouri and Bourgeois, also Minister of Tourism, reviewed the state of affairs of bilateral co-operation between the UAE and Belgium and the best ways to expand them. Also discussed were possibilities of opening up new avenues of work together and creating new opportunities for partnership in various sectors. During the meeting, Al Mansouri provided a detailed overview about the UAE economic policy and the innovation and creativity aspects under the Federal Government Strategic Plan 2016-2021. ''Oil now contributes 30 percent to the UAE GDP and the government has a plan to reduce that share to 20 percent. Innovation is projected to contribute 5 percent to the GDP by 2021,'' the UAE minister said. He said the UAE and Belgium can maintain vibrant co-operation through participation and contribution to key issues regarding stimulation of global economic growth, sharing of ideas and successful models which have made effective changes towards economic and social development in communities. The head of the Flemish Government informed Al Mansouri about the vision and objectives of the Government of Belgium through 2050. Recognising that the UAE vision 2021 and that of the Belgium for 2050 have common factors, the two sides agreed to work together to deliver objectives of the two visions through innovative projects and enhancement of the role of technology in vital sectors that facilitates smooth transformation towards a knowledge-based economy. Al Mansouri said the UAE has become a regional centre for future technology and innovation and continued to attract more major world technology players. As part of a programme of exchange of visits between entrepreneurs, Al Mansouri announced that a Belgian SME delegation would visit the UAE in April 2016. Later, Al Mansouri met separately with Qaisar Hijazin, Secretary-General of the Arab-Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (ABLCC), and Johan Beerlandt, Chief Executive Officer of BESIX Group, the largest Belgian group, operating in the construction of buildings, infrastructure, environmental projects and roads, which has longstanding business relations with the UAE. Speaking before representatives of 30 Belgian companies at the ABLCC, Al Mansouri affirmed the UAE's sincere desire to boost its economic partnership with the European Union’s (EU) trade partners and other countries of the world based its open, free market and trade policy, attraction of more foreign direct investment and increasing participation of the private sector in the national development process. Al Mansouri also dwelt on state-of-the-art services and facilities as well as incentives the UAE offers to foreign investors, and invited Belgian companies to enter into strategic industrial partnerships with their UAE counterparts, mainly to support industrial development in the UAE. He said the UAE was willing to draw lessons from successful experience and experiments of the EU member states to elevate its sustainable development. With major development projects for Dubai Expo 2020 beginning to take shape, he said Belgian firms were welcome to invest in the UAE market, particularly in areas of tourism, trade, building and construction and infrastructure. ''The Government of the UAE stands ready to assist Belgian industrial and trade companies interested to build trade, economic and investment partnerships with their UAE counterparts The UAE minister noted the marked and positive growth in trade exchange between the two countries which stood at 10 billion euros in 2014, accounting for 15 percent of the UAE foreign trade with the EU countries. Al Mansouri hoped his visit would open up new avenues of co-operation between the two friendly countries. For his part, Hijazin said Belgian companies were interested in expanding their presence in the UAE markets and increase their business cooperation with UAE companies to support social and economic development in the UAE. He also called on the UAE investors to increase their investment in Belgium by seizing promising investment opportunities on offer in many key sectors. The minister also met with Luxembourg Minister of Finance, Pierre Gramegna, to discuss prospects of co-operation in areas of economy, aviation, financial services and Islamic banking and finance. As they discussed Halal products, the UAE minister spoke about the initiatives launched by the UAE and Government of Dubai to become the world capital of Islamic economy. The UAE minister also met Jacqueline Galant, Belgium's Minister of Mobility, to discuss progress of bilateral relations in various modes of transport - aviation, sea, land and rail. – Emirates News Agency, WAM - http://www.wam.ae/en/news/emirates/1395287974320.html