Abu Dhabi: Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, has led a high-level UAE delegation to Bern and Basel, Switzerland, where he met with influential members of the public and commercial sectors to improve economic cooperation and encourage investment flows between the two countries.
The goal of the visit was to strengthen the ties between the UAE and Switzerland, whose non-oil trade is expected to reach $22.3 billion in 2023, up 41.2 percent from 2022.
Dr. Al Zeyoudi met with Switzerland’s State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Helene Budliger Artieda, during the visit, and the two expressed satisfaction with the expanding commercial interchange between their countries. Following that, they assisted in the opening of the Swiss-UAE Economic Forum, which was hosted in Bern and brought together investors and top business executives from both countries to discuss high-potential joint venture and investment prospects.
Dr. Al Zeyoudi stated that, “Switzerland is a valued trade and investment partner to the UAE, and the leading European destination for our non-oil trade exports and fourth globally with a value of US$9.55 billion in 2023. Our bilateral trade exceeded $22.3 billion in 2023, which represents an increase of 41.2 percent over 2022 and underlines the degree of synergy between our economies.”
“Switzerland shares our vision for long-term, sustainable economic growth built on knowledge and innovation, which in turn provides a platform for deeper cooperation. By bringing together our respective public and private sectors, the UAE-Swiss Economic Forum is one of the optimum ways to identify and explore these opportunities and build the connections and networks that will support another 50 years of positive UAE-Swiss ties,” the UAE Minister added.
Tours also included Swiss aircraft manufacturer Pilatus, which develops, produces, and sells aircraft worldwide. Pilatus partners with the UAE’s Strata to boost advanced manufacturing capabilities in the nation and support its knowledge-based economy.