Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, has emphasised the keen interest of the United Arab Emirates to strengthen co-operation with China and Hong Kong in the light of the common desire of both governments and their continuing efforts to work for the mutual benefit of the two friendly peoples.

In a statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), following his visit to Hong Kong, Al Mansouri said that the UAE and Hong Kong share numerous economic goals that have contributed to the development of the growing economic relations between them.

He noted that the UAE has made great strides with Hong Kong to provide a common environment promoting entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainability.

During his visit, Al Mansouri held a number of bilateral meetings with senior officials of the Hong Kong and Chinese governments, and stressed that the economic and trade relations between them is growing steadily.

Al Mansouri said that the official statistics indicate a significant increase in the annual volume of trade exchange between the UAE and Hong Kong, where the non-oil trade between them has risen from US$4.1 billion in 2011 to more than $6.2 billion in 2015, and added that these figures indicate the depth and strength of relations between the two sides.

The visit to Hong Kong on 18th and 19th May included the participation of the UAE delegation, led by the Minister of Economy, in a number of dialogue sessions within the activities at the Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong, which dealt with ways of achieving development goals and increasing the investment opportunities offered by the China-proposed Belt and Road initiative.

The Belt and Road initiative refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, launched by the Chinese president in 2013.

The Minister of Economy stressed the importance of the China-proposed Belt and Road initiative launched by China recently as it has a direct impact on the promotion of international trade by opening up opportunities for the development of economic co-operation among more than 60 countries across the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Africa.

Stressing that the UAE's economic and trade relations with China and Hong Kong are strong, Al Mansouri said that there are many opportunities to promote existing economic relations to the highest levels in the light of the Silk Road and Economic Belt Initiative.

Source :WAM