UAE delegation in Scotland to explore trade, renewable energy opportunities

A delegation of business leaders and investors from the United Arab Emirates have embarked on an official visit to Scotland to explore opportunities for renewable energy projects.

The delegation was led by the UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Dr Thani bin Ahmed al-Zeyoudi, and included the Under-Secretary of Abu Dhabi’s Department of Economic Development Rashid Abdul Karim al-Balooshi, and UAE Ambassador to the UK Mansour Abdullah Khalfan Belhoul, the official Emirates News Agency WAM reported on Sunday.

Al-Zeyoudi held talks with Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, Angus Robertson, in Edinburgh during which the pair reviewed bilateral relations between their nations and exchanged views on ways to better enhance cooperation.

The UAE trade minister also met with his Scottish counterpart Ivan McKee for discussions on the growing trade and investment relations between their two nations, particularly related to energy, food and agricultural products, as well as opportunities to develop an array of key sectors, including tourism.

The delegation also visited the Scottish Enterprise, a non-departmental public body of the Scottish government which encourage economic development investment and innovation in business.

They also held a meeting at Scottish Development International, where the agency’s CEO Reuben Aitken showcased the potential for hydrogen production in Scotland and its rapidly developing space sector, WAM reported.

During this official visit, al-Zeyoudi held roundtables with a range of senior government officials and private business leaders to discuss renewable energy, infrastructure, trade and establishing pioneering companies and projects.

Scotland and the UAE have enjoyed a strong and growing economic relationship for many years, with significant trade and investment flows between the two countries.

The UAE is one of Scotland’s key trading partners in the Middle East and North Africa region, and Scottish companies export a range of goods and services to the UAE in fields spanning from engineering, renewable energy, education and food.

In turn, the UAE has long been a major investor in Scotland, with a number of UAE-based firms investing in a variety of the country’s sectors such as real estate and tourism.

The UK as a whole is also one of the UAE’s top trading partners. The non-oil bilateral trade volume between the two countries reached $4.7 billion in the first nine months of 2022, according to WAM, registering a 32 percent increase compared to its corresponding period in 2021.