Abu Dhabi: The UAE’s Minister of Economy, Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, and the Iranian Minister of Road and Urban Development, Mehrdad Bazrpash, presided over the inaugural meeting of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the UAE in Abu Dhabi.
Several government representatives from both sides attended the discussion, which focused on enhancing cooperation in several economically relevant areas. The new economy, travel, tourism, energy and renewable energy, SMEs, innovation, logistics, agriculture, and the environment are a few of them. The ways to encourage cooperative efforts required to achieve unprecedented heights in bilateral economic relations were also deliberated on during the discussion.
Bin Touq pointed out that one of the main pillars sustaining the bilateral ties is the UAE-Iran economic partnership, which is expanding in several areas. According to him, the UAE is eager to broaden the scope of its trade and economic cooperation with Iran to include more sectors of mutual interest.
Touq stated, “The convening of the first session of the UAE-Iran JEC reflects our shared aspirations to solidify existing economic ties and expand them to the future sectors. These efforts are in line with the UAE wise leadership’s vision to strengthen the country’s bilateral cooperation with global partners.”
The Iranian delegation was also informed by the Minister of Economy on the recent economic advancements in the UAE’s business environment. The Commercial Companies Law was amended to allow for 100 percent foreign ownership, among other notable changes. Modernization of the visa and residency processes was also implemented, and self-employment and green residency pathways were introduced to increase the nation’s appeal to talent, investors, employers, and businesses.
In addition, he examined the creation and enactment of new federal legislation, particularly those about cooperatives, family enterprises, commercial agencies, and commerce via contemporary technological methods. The UAE economy is expected to grow sustainably as a result of these economic changes, which create an environment that is favorable for a variety of business strategies.
Apart from these, the introduction of programs—most notably the “UAE Circular Economy Policy 2031″—that aim to facilitate the country’s economic shift to a circular model was emphasized.
The Committee’s recommendations, which call for urgent trade and economic cooperation, were accepted by both parties, and they decided to create cooperative technical task teams to monitor their execution. Additionally, the JEC committed to offering a range of services and resources to help SMEs expand and support their exports into new markets.
In addition, the two parties discussed ways to improve collaboration and investment in areas and activities about trade, tourism, traditional energy, industry, renewable energy, R&D, institutional innovation, knowledge sharing in financial markets, entrepreneurship, agriculture, and aviation.