H.E. Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, held a roundtable meeting with members of the Miami Business Council in Miami County, Florida, on the sidelines of his official visit to the United States of America. The meeting apprised the Council members of the UAE’s business environment and encouraged them to explore investment and partnership opportunities in the country’s market. The discussions also focused on fostering collaboration to create new avenues for growth that enhance the dialogue between the UAE and American private sectors.

Economic partnership between UAE and Florida

H.E. Bin Touq highlighted the robust and longstanding bilateral ties between the UAE and the state of Florida, which is witnessing continuous growth in the economic and investment sectors. Florida’s exports to the UAE reached approximately USD 6.3 billion from 2019 to 2023, marking a remarkable annual growth of 39 per cent and reaching USD 1.9 billion in 2023. Furthermore, the economic partnership between both sides has resulted in the creation of 14,500 job opportunities in the past year.

H.E. said: “We consider the American private sector a significant economic partner of our country’s business sector. Under the guidance of both countries’ leaderships, we are fully confident that the economic and investment collaboration will continue to advance and thrive.”

Strengthening of economic ties with Miami

During the meeting, H.E. said: “Miami is strategically situated, serving as a vital link to the Caribbean, Central and South America. With a stable and adaptable financial market, our priority lies in strengthening economic ties with Miami across the government and private sectors. Our aim is to explore promising prospects in areas such as the new economy, creative industries, technology and artificial intelligence in both markets. We strive to embrace innovative economic solutions that support the growth and sustainability of our economies.”

Diversity of the UAE Economy

The Minister of Economy elaborated on various strategies and visions implemented by the UAE in recent years to diversify and sustain its national economy. This is of particular significance as the non-oil sectors now contribute 74 per cent to the non-oil GDP, positioning the UAE at the top spot among the fast-growing economies among both the Gulf and Arab countries. Furthermore, the UAE has outpaced several prominent global economies. In the first half of 2023, it secured the top ranking globally for economic strength and stability, according to the Global Soft Power Index for 2024.

UAE’s Flexible Economic Legislations

H.E. reviewed an array of flexible economic policies and legislation promulgated by the country, their role in promoting the competitiveness of the business and investment climate, and the establishment of a distinct legislative infrastructure in accordance with global best practices in this regard. A number of laws were promulgated and updated over the past three years, strengthening the country’s efforts to lead globally in the development of proactive legislation for new economic sectors by the next decade, in light of the objectives of the ‘We the UAE 2031’ vision.

H.E. Bin Touq explained that the global economy is undergoing constant changes and transformations, which prompts us to adopt flexible economic policies and motivate business communities to invest in fast-growing sectors and explore opportunities in emerging markets, promote economic openness to the world, and support economic clusters.

Meeting with Miami Beach Mayor

During the visit, H.E. Bin Touq met with H.E Steve Mainer, Mayor of Miami Beach, to discuss ways to enhance economic cooperation in critical areas and sectors of shared interest, particularly technology, circular economy, entrepreneurship, and small and medium enterprises.

The two sides also explored new mechanisms to support tourism cooperation, particularly as the UAE and Miami enjoy unique natural tourism attractions such as beaches, mountain and recreational tourism. The two sides agreed on the importance of increasing mutual tourist flows and reiterated support for increasing the number of flights between them and promoting key tourism attractions on both sides.

Visit to Miami University

H.E Bin Touq also visited the University of Miami’s technology incubator to learn about its successful experiences in the fields of economics, scientific research, technology, and artificial intelligence. He was received by Mr. Julio Frenk, President of the University of Miami, and a number of other university officials. During a meeting, the two sides touched on the importance of taking advantage of the rapid technological developments in promoting the future growth of startups and innovators and providing them with all enablers for growth and prosperity. He added that the UAE offers a competitive business environment for entrepreneurs and startups, and that for the third consecutive year, the country ranked first in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report 2023-2024, and as the best destination to establish new businesses and economic activities.

Strengthening cooperation with the American private sector

In addition, H.E Bin Touq’s visit to the states of New York and Florida saw a number of meetings with representatives of the American private sector. These include companies, financial institutions and investment funds such as Ventures 305, DaGrosa Capital Partners, Ava Labs, Teneo, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Viking Global, General Catalyst, JPMorgan, I Squared Capital, O’Leary Ventures and Medina Ventures.

During these meetings, H.E. called on American companies and financial institutions to capitalize on the advantages and potential offered by the UAE economy, as well as flexible tax facilities and incentives available to businessmen, investors, and entrepreneurs when establishing various economic activities and businesses in the country’s markets. H.E noted that the flexible economic policies adopted by the UAE over the last three years have made it a fertile ground for the growth of businesses in the domestic market and their expansions to other foreign markets. The total number of companies operating in the UAE exceeded 788,000 by the end of 2023.