$5B right off the bat

Bilateral trade between the UAE and Israel will initially reach $5 billion as there are plenty of opportunities between the two countries especially in technology, logistics and other industries, senior officials have said.

“We estimate at least $5 billion trade in the beginning between the UAE and Israel and it will increase as there are many opportunities. From the technology side, we see huge opportunities. We never looked at it earlier but as we speak, port facilities will allow us to link our ports in Europe to the Middle East,” said Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, group chairman and CEO of DP World and chairman of Ports, Customs & Free Zone Corporation.

He said Israel is a very well-established market for traders.

“People can look at the UAE as an important place to reach bigger markets. Within three hours of a flight from Dubai, you can reach two billion people. And you find several flights from Dubai and other emirates daily to access these two-billion markets. You can fly and ship anything at any time of the day from the UAE to anywhere in the world,” Bin Sulayen said during the inaugural UAE-Israel Future Digital Economy Summit held at Gitex Technology Week at the Dubai World Trade Centre on Monday.

This is the first summit involving Israeli technology companies in the UAE since the signing of the Abraham Accord on September 15 in Washington DC. Currently, a large of contingent of major and startup technology companies from Israel is taking part in the ongoing 40th edition of Gitex. A number of senior UAE and Israeli officials addressed the summit on Monday.

Gitex is also the biggest live and in-person event in the UAE after the outbreak of coronavirus.

Bin Sulayem said US President-elect Joe Biden’s policies will be more reasonable and will take a multilateral approach.

Reem Bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director-General of Expo 2020 Dubai, said the future cannot be found in old ways but with understanding and de-escalation of tensions.

“We want to part from the past and begin relationships on the premise of dialogue and debate,” Al Hashimy said in her welcome address at the summit.

She noted that as the two nations explore and identify opportunities, there are a number of commonalities and they should use those new connections to drive business-to-business activities in order to achieve sustainable growth.

Adiv Baruch, chairman of the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute, also addressed the summit, stressing that the UAE and Israel have more in common than differences.

“We didn’t have natural resources so Israel realised that only capital we have is human capital and invested throughout this capital. Dubai’s leadership is also about the future,” Baruch said in his welcome address.

“We have to take baby steps. This agreement is all about the economy and we have to pave the roads so that this economic relationship is sustainable, meaningful,” he added.

-waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com