UAE and Kyrgyzstan agree to boost mutual investments, expand bilateral trade

The UAE and Kyrgyzstan have agreed to strengthen trade cooperation as well as foster business and investment partnerships to accelerate the sustainable economic growth of both the nations. The two countries have agreed to cooperate in the fields of agriculture, food security, manufacturing industries, energy, renewable energy, IT, innovation, tourism, culture, logistical transport, industry, entrepreneurship, Islamic finance and securities, banking services, and education.

This came during the meeting of the second edition of the joint economic committee between the two countries, in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The committee was chaired by Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy, and Aqlbek Jabarov, Prime Minister of the Kyrgyzstan Republic, in the presence of Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade; Juma Muhammad Al-Kait, Assistant Under-Secretary for Foreign Trade Affairs at the UAE Ministry of Economy; Abdilatif Jumabaev, Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic to the UAE; and Kanat Abdrahmanov, Deputy Minister of Economy and Trade of the Kyrgyzstan Republic, with the participation of several Representatives of federal and local government entities, businessmen and private sector representatives from both countries.

The committee witnessed the signing of several memorandum of cooperation between the UAE and Kyrgyzstan. The agreements encompassed a wide range of businesses and other commercial pursuits, most notably those in the food, agricultural, industry, and renewable energy sectors. The committee also concurred that the next stage should simplify the export and import of goods and services between the two nations to foster the future of food security in the markets of both the nations.

The committee recommended setting up a joint working group to coordinate and define meetings and workshops in which investors, businessmen and representatives of the private sector from both countries would participate. These meetings and workshops would strengthen channels of communication between the Emirati and Kyrgyz business communities and inform them of investment opportunities and vital commercial projects on an ongoing basis.

The UAE was the top trading partner of Kyrgyzstan in the GCC countries and the region in 2021. The volume of non-oil trade between the two countries amounted to more than Dh3.67 billion during the first 9 months of 2022, a growth of 66 per cent compared to the same period in 2021 and 63 per cent and 56 per cent over the same period in 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Over the past few years, the inter-tourism between the two nations has also seen qualitative leaps in the exchange of tourist delegations and the growth in the number of trips, as more than 16,000 Emirati tourists visited the Kyrgyz Republic in 2021. The UAE and Kyrgyzstan underscored the significance of the tourist growth and collaboration that the two nations have experienced during the last period.

Al-Zeyoudi said: “By strengthening joint economic and investment cooperation, encouraging the possibility of establishing projects in various commercial sectors, and stepping up efforts to increase and diversify trade exchange commodities, we look forward to creating a new phase through the committee meeting that supports the growth and sustainability of the economies of the two countries. This will further help to increase the growth of bilateral trade and mutual investments, in accordance with “We are the Emirates 2031” initiative that aims at positioning the country’s position as a global partner and an attractive and influential economic centre.”

He emphasised that the non-oil trade between the two countries has grown steadily over the past five years, increasing from Dh1.14 billion in 2017 to more than Dh3 billion in 2021, making Kyrgyzstan one of the UAE’s most significant economic partner in the Central Asian region. Other trade increased to 164 per cent over that time, while Emirati non-oil exports to Kyrgyzstan increased by 705 per cent. Additionally, the UAE is responsible for 99.7 per cent of Kyrgyzstan’s imports from the Gulf nations and 98 per cent of the country’s exports to the GCC nations.

Aaklbik Jabarov, Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan said: “The meetings of the Joint Governmental Economic Committee’s second session between the regions of Kyrgyzstan and the UAE were very successful, and new agreements that would support and deepen the Kyrgyz-UAE collaboration in the fields of investment and trade, as well as economy, tourism, agriculture, cultural, humanitarian, educational, and various other fields were reached to fruition. He further emphasised that Kyrgyzstan places a high value on expanding collaboration with the UAE in order to strengthen the expanding relationship.”

In the first nine months of 2022, the total amount of re-exports from the UAE to Kyrgyzstan reached Dh3 billion, an increase of 81 per cent over the same period in 2021. In contrast, the total amount of national non-oil exports to Kyrgyzstan reached Dh410 million, an increase of 203 per cent over the same period in 2021.

The UAE and Kyrgyzstan have agreed to establish new mechanisms and action plans that would boost bilateral ties in a variety of economic and trade fields, support direct foreign investment growth between the two nations in sectors of shared interest, and increase the number of investment opportunities for investors and businesses in both nations.

• Business